


The Deal

by RexMadison



Category: King of Fighters
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Dating, Developing Relationship, F/M, Falling In Love (...maybe), First Dates, First Kiss, Fix-It, Fluff, Humor, Kissing, Martial Arts, Mostly Canon Compliant, Psychic Abilities, Romance, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-04-07 06:01:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 37,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14074476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RexMadison/pseuds/RexMadison
Summary: Sie Kensou's been trying to confess his love fortwenty yearsnow (in real time, at least).  But Athena's always shut him down, because she didn't want to tell him how she really feels.  Lately, though, she's been feeling a little bit differently--so she makes him a deal... (Rated PG-13.  Last Update 2/20/2019:  tags.)





	1. The Setup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this idea pretty much since KOF2001, when it became obvious the writers weren't going to advance this subplot anymore. (You know, kind of like what happened with the Dragon Spirit. ...jerkoffs.) Sure, Athena doesn't want to hurt Sie--but leaving him hanging like this seems _way_ more painful to me. Something really needs to be done here...and this fic is what _I'd_ like it to be.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The Psycho Soldiers didn't get involved in many tournaments these days.

Sure, there'd been that King of Fighters fairly recently. But they didn't come around as often as they used to. And the group hadn't made a lot of side appearances, either; Athena was too wrapped up in her career for that. That meant Chin Gentsai spent a lot more time grumbling these days...but the idol was firmly convinced that she could help more people through inspiration, and so far she'd managed to keep her _sensei_ from arguing the point.

It also meant, however, that Sie Kensou hadn't had a chance to confess his love in a while.

(...of _course_ he could've done it in private, you fool! But haven't you been paying attention!? That wasn't what Kensou wanted at all! He wanted the _world_ to know he loved her. He wanted to shout it from the rooftops! And then...if she told him she loved him, too, with the world watching...it would be the greatest day anyone had ever had in their life.

No, he was _not_ going to consider that she might break his heart instead.)

So when he found a charity group looking into putting on a martial arts exhibition, he pounced on it. He brought the info straight to Athena, and he did everything he could to convince her to join. When she agreed he almost fainted, and from then on he spent every spare moment planning out exactly what to say.

Finally, the day came. Momoko and Bao were the first performers; the crowd cheered when the little girl defeated the slightly-less-little boy. Later, Master Chin went up against no less than eight kung fu black belts at once; the crowd roared when he took down all of them without so much as a scratch. A couple more exhibitions followed...and then came the main event.

Athena looked a little nervous as she stepped onto the platform. Sie, of course, was bursting at the seams. The two approached each other, bowed, and stepped back to their places. Athena got into her fighting stance...but Kensou spoke instead.

"Wait, Athena. I have something to tell you," he called out.

He didn't see her cringe.

"I've wanted to tell you since I met you. I think I've even done it, once...but if you answered, I didn't hear it. So I'm going to tell you now, Athena. I...I--"

"Stop, Kensou."

Sie blinked. "...huh?"

"You're going to tell me you're in love with me," she said quietly.

A light gasp went through the audience.

"But I already know it, Sie," she went on, her face grim. "I've known it for years."

Kensou stared at her in slack-jawed silence.

"...then why didn't you _say_ anything!?" he finally exploded.

"Because you're my best friend in the world, Sie. And I wanted to _keep_ it that way. And I knew that if I told you how I felt, that wouldn't be possible.

"Because I don't feel the same way about you. I'm sorry, but I don't."

Kensou's world crumbled before him. His heart sank lower than it had in his whole life. As he fell to his knees, some of the audience actually started to boo Athena, shocked that she'd drop such a bombshell in front of a crowd.

"...however."

"...however?" Sie whispered from his knees.

"I've been thinking about this for a while, now," Athena told him. "And love at first sight...that's not always how it works, you know? Some people go out together for months before they realize they're in love. Years, even. They have to get to know each other, first...and I'm not sure I've gotten to know you that way."

"R...re, really?" Kensou stammered as he stood, hope returning to his voice.

"So here's the deal," Athena finished. "From now on, whenever we have a match, even in training...if you win, we go on a date."

The crowd cheered, and Sie's face lit up with such a wide grin she had to smile...but she wasn't done.

" _However!_ " she said loudly, calming him (and everyone else) down. "If _I_ win, you have to go on a date with someone _else_."

Kensou's jaw dropped as a few audience members gasped.

"It doesn't matter who. I'll even help you find someone if you want. The point is for _you_ to get to know some people, and maybe find _another_ girl that can make you happy. After a while, if one of us decides we won't work out...or if I start to get jealous," she added, blushing, "...we'll call it off, or at least change the rules a little.

"So. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal! Deal!!" Sie agreed frantically. It was win-win, as far as he was concerned; he knew Athena would always be the girl for him--but another girl could still be _fun_.

"All right then." Athena dropped into her stance, smiling wide as the crowd went wild. "Come on, Sie. Give me your best shot!"

"Oh, you better believe it, baby!" he cried, dropping into his own with a madman's grin. "New Kensou, comin' at ya!!"

\----

Of course Kensou won the match.

Of course he wondered if Athena threw it.

The surprising part was that he actually asked her.

The more surprising part was when she realized she didn't know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's my solution. Even if Athena doesn't _love_ Sie, after twenty years she clearly wants to stick with him. She should at least give him a _chance_ to turn into something more. Makes sense, right? Right??
> 
> This fic's next chapter is already done, and I'll be posting it soon. But after that it'll be just like any other fic. Updates when I get time and inspiration, and all that. I _hate_ that setup, because it leads to so many dead stories...but honestly, I've already made my point with this one. The rest is just gravy.
> 
> See you next update!


	2. The First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. I didn't realize this thing was under 1000 words until I posted it. Nothing wrong with that by itself, of course--but it doesn't exactly scream "fic with promising update potential", does it? Luckily, I already have the next chapter ready to roll, and it's much more substantial. Well, word-count wise, I mean. Content-wise it's complete fluff...but you probably already guessed that. :)
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

After the exhibition, the Soldiers' _sensei_ flat-out _demanded_ they retreat to their dojo for a while, to work on what he called their "disgraceful" performances. Sie, of course, loved the idea, knowing they'd be doing a _lot_ more sparring there. The others tried to fend him off, but Chin was having none of it this time, and Athena didn't have any major bookings standing in her way.

And that's how she and Kensou wound up going on their first date in China, starting it miles away from civilization.

Staring at her mirrored eyes as she put on her makeup, Athena found herself having second thoughts. She had pictured meeting Kensou in a coffee shop, or at a theater or something...not on the porch of the dojo, right before an hour-long car ride. How awkward was _that_ going to be? Sometimes this "deal" of theirs felt like a big mistake...

But then she smiled at herself, as she realized this wasn't one of those times. Awkwardness aside, she _liked_ this arrangement. Sie seemed to like it too...and even her press agents liked it, glad that if she'd _had_ to start dating she'd at least made it part of her act. Most importantly, this seemed like the best way to _settle_ this thing--the one least likely to leave hurt feelings.

...she hoped.

She finished putting on her makeup, going a little lighter on the rouge and eyeliner than she did on stage. She stood back and looked at her outfit, a simple, light yellow sundress; she twirled a bit to shake it out, then adjusted the thin white sash at her waist. Finally, she gathered her hair together and secured a long, black wig over it. In Japan she'd need a whole lot more for a disguise...but outside her homeland, this would probably be enough.

Athena put her hand to her heart, closed her eyes, and let out a sigh. Then she put on her biggest smile and headed for the front porch, where the two had agreed to meet. She'd expected to find her date there already...but what she actually found took her breath away.

At the top of the steps to the yard stood Sie Kensou, dressed in an impeccable three-piece suit. His black sportscoat and matching slacks were cleaned and pressed to perfection; his long, dark blue tie looked to be made of the finest silk. His black leather shoes gleamed in the sun, and he had even slicked his hair back. On top of that, he held a full bouquet of Japanese primroses. That was the most impressive part, really--they held little meaning in his culture, but a _ton_ of meaning in hers...and they were pretty hard to come by here.

Athena looked him up and down openly, taking him in.

Then she burst out laughing.

"Ouch," said Sie jokingly, trying not to look as hurt as he felt. "Is it really that bad...?"

"No! It--it's not that," Athena gasped, trying to breathe. "You look really nice, Sie. I mean it! But...didn't you say you were taking me to an amusement park?"

Kensou blanched.

"Do you...do you really want to run around in _that_ all day?" she asked, holding her hand to her mouth as she started giggling again.

"Uhm...well, I mean...I, uhh... ...I'llberightback!" he blurted, dashing back into the dojo.

The idol started laughing again, holding her stomach. It was just the kind of tension-breaker she'd needed (though for _him_ it probably just made things worse). Silly, silly Kensou.

...he _did_ look better in a suit than she'd thought he would, though.

\----

Kensou returned about fifteen minutes later, looking downright sheepish. He now wore black jean shorts and a white undershirt beneath a green button-down, a more practical but much less impressive outfit. He'd overcompensated by putting on too much cologne...but it was a _good_ smell, at least, and Athena didn't seem to mind.

Sie redeemed himself a little as they left the dojo. He offered to carry her purse, held the service car's door for her, and tipped the driver ahead of time without batting an eye.

Once they actually got moving, though, things quickly got as awkward as Athena had feared.

"...so...how's Momoko's training going?" Sie broke the silence with eventually. "You've been working with her a lot more than I have."

"Well, she's coming along," Athena replied with a shrug. "She can shoot small bolts of energy now, instead of just those big beams. And sometimes she can get a shield going when she does her Ground Arrow."

"You mean _Phoenix_ Arrow?" Kensou asked, smirking.

"Her _Ground Arrow_ , yes," said the idol, staring him down. "I'm not sure how her Capoeira's doing, though. That stuff is _really_ confusing; I don't know how she does it. You'd have to ask Master Chin about that one."

Silence.

"What about her mental training?"

"That's...not going as well. She still can't really look into my mind, yet. She can speak with me through telepathy now, but only when she's touching me." Then Athena furrowed her brow. "It's the darnedest thing, though. She can do something even Master Chin's never heard of. She sends more than words when she talks to you...she sends _emotions_ , too."

"Emotions?"

"Yeah. She sends you what she's feeling, like when she's happy or sad. Sometimes it's so strong it makes _me_ happy or sad. I've tried to help her tone it down, but I think it's just getting stronger."

"Yikes," Sie murmured. "Hope she can fix that."

"Me too," Athena agreed.

Silence.

"Bao's kind of the opposite," Sie tried this time. "He's about as good as we are at telepathy at this point. He can see into your mind, too, and even pick up random memories. But I don't think he's gotten any better at creating energy since he got his powers back."

"Hmm. Interesting," Athena said disinterestedly.

"He's gotten a _lot_ better at kung fu, though, so it balances out," Kensou went on, not catching it. Then he grinned at her again. "Say, if _Bao_ beats you will you date him? Do I have competition?"

"You are _such_ a jerk," the girl laughed, and the boy laughed with her.

"...Bao really is getting good, though," Kensou went on when they'd recovered. "He picked up this one move all on his own, where he--"

"You know, Kensou," Athena broke in, "this is kind of like talking business. This is a date, you know? Isn't it supposed to be about us...?"

Her partner cringed. "Of _course_ it is! ...you're right, Athena. I'm sorry. Really."

"It's okay," she told him, smiling weakly.

But then Kensou's face suddenly changed. "Actually, no, you're _not_ right. Today shouldn't be about us--it should be about _you_! Tell me more about yourself, Athena...you know, like you would on a _normal_ date."

Athena chuckled. "Ten points, Kensou," she awarded, and Kensou beamed. "But that's just a stereotype, really. _I'm_ not going to fulfill it. I mean honestly? I don't know _any_ women that just want to talk about themselves." Then she frowned. "...I did know one back in high school, though. There was this one girl, April, who couldn't _stop_ talking about herself. One time she..."

She then proceeded to fulfill the stereotype for the rest of the car ride.

 _I hope those ten points come in handy..._ Sie found himself thinking.

\----

A short while later, the two were entering the park grounds, marveling at the scenery. The park had a largely Western theme, leaving them both feeling a bit of culture shock; bright colors and grinning cartoons popped out at them at every turn, and towering rollercoasters dominated the skyline. Neither one of them could decide what to do first, and they ended up just wandering the park for some time.

"How about we try some of these rides, Kensou?" Athena finally asked, smiling. "That one, maybe?" She pointed to the tallest, most dangerous-looking rollercoaster in sight, far in the distance.

"Thrillseeker, huh? Heh, I'm right there with you. ...but how about we do that one first?" Sie countered, gesturing at a nearby ride that looked more like the Disneyland teacups.

"Are you joking? Sie, you can't call yourself a thrillseeker and then--" Then it clicked. "...waaait a minute. You just want to do _that_ one because it'll keep crashing us into each other, don't you?"

"Yeah, I told you. Thrillseeker," he said with a devious grin.

" _Minus ten points_ , Kensou," Athena deducted, backhanding him as she walked towards the coaster in a huff.

\----

After they rode the monstrous ride--and then sat down until they could see straight--they saw a small food stand nearby, selling various Americanized treats. Athena spotted a sno cone, and said she'd always wanted to try one. Shocked that she hadn't, Sie bought them both the big ones, and they sat back down on the bench as they ate.

Kensou watched Athena as she took her first lick, carefully keeping his eyes off her tongue. He was rewarded when he got to see her face light up, her eyes and smile widening in delight.

"Good, huh?" he asked, chuckling.

"Mm- _hmm_ ," Athena murmured, lapping up the treat quickly. "They're pretty much pure sugar, aren't they? Well, and a little bit of ice."

"Sounds about right. Not something to have every day, but hey--this is a special occasion, right?"

"It is," the idol agreed, smiling at him. "So when've _you_ had these before?"

Kensou smirked. "Well, I've been to amusement parks before, Athena. And winter festivals...and summer food stands...and _grocery stores_...and--"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Athena broke in, rolling her eyes. "I've been to parks too, you know. Just, not very _many_. Did you go a lot?"

"Every summer from the age of 4," he said, to her surprise. "Dad and I made it a yearly thing, until I went off with Chin. Took a good chunk of each year's savings, too...but Dad wanted to make some memories, he said. And we did."

"You did, huh?" said his partner, her sno cone forgotten as she looked at him intently.

"Yeah," Sie replied, nodding, still staring straight ahead. "They're not all like this, you know. A lot of these parks are more traditional. Cultural. Most of them, back then. I hated school, but I always did great in history, because I actually _cared_. And starting out with it in fun places, with my dad...I think that's why."

Silence.

"...you _see_?" Athena burst out, grinning. "That is _exactly_ what I was talking about! All these years we've known each other, and how much have we talked about what you did with your parents? _That's_ the kind of thing I want to get to know about you, Kensou. Five points."

"Really?" Kensou laughed. "It's that easy, huh? Man, I should've started spilling my guts a long time ago. We could be married by now."

"It's not _that_ easy, Sie," the idol said, smirking now. "So don't overdo it. But it _helps_."

"Well, what about you, Athena?" her partner asked her. "You don't talk about what you and your parents did together. In fact, I can't remember you bringing up your parents at all."

Athena's face darkened.

"...actually, in my case, I'd rather keep it that way," she said quietly, returning to her sno cone.

 _Wow. Interesting,_ thought Kensou, his eyebrows raised. He'd have to pry that out of her, at some point.

\----

After another couple of rides, the pair decided to see one of the exhibits. Sie told her this park featured the world's largest shark tank, the White Shark Expo (or Weird Shark, or something like that). Athena didn't exactly love marine life, but she liked Kensou's enthusiasm about it, so she agreed. She thought they should ask around about the place...but Sie felt confident he could find it on his own.

Forty-five minutes later, they were still looking.

"Can we _please_ just ask someone, Kensou?" Athena huffed for the third time. She _had_ been huffing that they should get a map from someone...but he'd eventually agreed to that, and it _still_ hadn't helped.

"This'll only take a little longer," Sie promised, reading the map from several different angles. "I _know_ I can figure this out..."

His partner started to complain that she was hungry...but then her stomach growled the complaint for her.

"...maybe your powers could help you look?" she said through gritted teeth. "You know, your mental eye?"

"That'd be cheating," her partner muttered.

 _...oh, brother._ There were _ways_ to cheat with psychic powers. Looking into someone's head for test answers, for example. (She'd only done it _once_.) This was not one of them.

Athena looked around them, bored and frustrated and annoyed. There were a lot of people in the area now, some milling about but most of them walking with purpose. _At least THEY know where they're going,_ she thought bitterly.

Then she had an idea.

" _Gee, Sie,_ " she said in Chinese (and _very_ loudly), " _I wish we could find that giant shark tank you were talking about. What did you say it was? The White Shark Expo?_ "

"Something like that," Kensou mumbled as he read, not catching it. But by then her plan had worked.

"...excuse me," said a nearby gentleman, coming up to them. "Are you talking about the Whale Shark Exhibit?"

" _That's it!_ Whale Shark!" Sie exclaimed, looking up and smiling. Then he realized what was going on, and frowned at Athena instead. "Athena, I told you I--"

"I'm sorry, but that exhibit isn't in this park."

They looked at him.

"Yeah...it's over at Chimelong Ocean Kingdom," he told them. "They were thinking of building a bigger tank here, but it got canceled due to lack of interest. I'm sorry...!"

He bowed and left.

Sie didn't look at his partner for a while. (Athena certainly looked at _hers_.) Finally, he turned to her with a helpless smile. "'Minus five points, Kensou?'" he offered.

"Well, I _would_ ," said Athena, with a withering glare. "But you've been losing a point a minute for about half an hour, so I better not."

He hung his head as she walked past him toward the nearest restaurant.

\----

The two spent the rest of the afternoon trying to go on more rides, which the lines made an ordeal. One thing they did wait for was the sky drop, a type of ride Kensou had never gone on either. They clambered into the bulky seats right around sunset, Athena on the end and Sie right beside her. She had thought the ride looked fun...but once they were belted, strapped and chestguarded in, she started to feel a little nervous. And once they started lurching upward, she felt downright panicked.

"Wow. Um. We're, uh, we're going _really_ high, aren't we," the idol stammered, already starting to sweat.

"Athena, do you have a fear of heights?" Sie asked.

"Not until _now_ ," she replied in clipped tones. "I went on that coaster, didnt I??"

She stayed that way for a few seconds, breathing hard...then closed her eyes and bent her head, looking strained. Kensou had been amused at first, but now he was getting concerned. "Hey, are you alright? What're you doing?"

"...trying to keep my powers from _destroying_ this thing so I can Teleport out of here," the psychic gasped.

His eyes widened. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you serious!?" Then he swallowed. "Uh, you realize I and everyone else up here will fall to our deaths, right?"

"I am _aware_ , Sie!" she snapped, glaring at him briefly. "Now tell my instincts that...!"

"Okay, just calm down, Athena. Remember what the Master said. Deep breaths...deep _long_ breaths."

She followed the advice as best she could, still straining but slowing her breathing. It worked well for a few more seconds...but then she sped right back up again--and, very faintly, started to glow.

_HEY!_

The mental shout shocked her, and her aura faded as she whipped around to look at Sie. He was staring at her intently, trying to hold down her eyes with his own. But they quickly drifted off again, looking down at the tiny people, tiny trees, tiny _buildings_ \--

 _Look at me, Athena. Look at ME,_ he ordered, and reached over and took her hand. _I'm here for you, okay? And these things are SAFE. An amusement park ride breaking is a ten-million-to-one chance!_

Those odds were _way_ too good for Athena, and Sie being trapped up here with her didn't make her feel any safer. But his reassuring grip, his calm, smiling stare, were enough to distract her until the ride came to a stop.

 _Coming down now. Brace yourself!_ he told her. She had just enough time to close her eyes before the ride fell toward the ground at top speed.

Athena let out an ear-splitting shriek, as did several other passengers. (Kensou was screaming, too--partly from the rush, but partly because his partner was breaking his hand.) The ride dropped for two agonizing seconds, then stopped, or rather slowed to a much more comfortable speed.

The girl fell back against her seat, now panting in relief instead of terror. Meanwhile the boy took a look at the other passengers; if any of them had noticed Athena's glow, they didn't seem to care.

"Twenty points, Kensou," she said breathlessly, as the operators loosened their restraints.

"You okay now, Athena?" he asked.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," she assured him, stepping back onto blessed solid ground. Then she grinned. " _That_ part was kind of fun, actually."

"Don't get used to it," Kensou muttered.

Athena giggled, then turned to her partner with a smile. "That was a real mess you helped me out of, Sie. I don't know how to thank you."

"Anytime," he told her with a weak smile of his own. "And, uh... _I've_ got an idea."

The young woman's eyes narrowed, and she crossed her arms. "And what's that?" she asked him, her voice icy death.

"...think you could use your healing powers on this?" he asked her, holding up his hand. She had _literally_ broken it; among other things, his ring finger was bent at a ninety-degree angle.

She would have gasped in horror, maybe even started crying--if he hadn't _just_ reminded her that she could fix it. Because he had, she simply stared for a second, then burst out laughing again.

"Yeah, _ha ha_ ," he said, still cringing from lifting the thing. "This doesn't exactly feel _good_ , y'know..."

\----

They didn't go on any more rides, after that.

The day was almost over, anyhow. Sunset faded into twilight, and the street lamps lit up. Athena and Sie contented themselves with another meal, then watching a couple light shows. After the incident, though, Athena put in a little more effort, trying to adjust herself to acting like Sie's _girlfriend_ instead of his friend. Of course Kensou was thrilled, his heart soaring whenever she clutched his arm or spoke in her cutest voice. Athena, meanwhile, found it didn't seem all that different; it didn't seem all that bad.

When she laid her head against his shoulder on the car ride home, though, it felt _really_ unnatural. She pulled away a little too quickly, and she was certain he noticed. They spent the next few minutes in an awkward silence, as she prayed it hadn't hurt him too much.

Thankfully, their moods had improved a little by the time they got back to the dojo. He opened the door for her graciously; she got out and thanked him politely. They walked up the steps side by side and holding hands, partly because it was dark and partly to see what it was like holding hands. Then they reached the door, and they turned to each other.

"So...what'd you think?" asked Sie nervously.

"This was nice," Athena told him, smiling. "It was fun, being on a date. And it was interesting seeing how _you_ act on a date."

"'Interesting', huh?" Kensou chuckled. "I'll have to work on that, then."

"Not too hard," she assured him. "The only thing I didn't like was that we didn't _talk_ again, you know? I mean, of course we talked a lot, but not about anything special. We didn't _learn_ about each other, after that thing with your dad. And that was kind of the point of this."

Before he could look too disappointed, though, she shook her head and smiled. "We'll have to make sure to do that, if you get another date."

" _When_ I get another date."

"Hehe. Confident, aren't you? You'd better keep training, then."

"You better believe it," he promised.

Athena yawned then, _really_ hugely, to the point that it was obviously fake. "All right, I think I'll turn in for the night."

"Yeah, I'm a little beat myself," said Kensou, not catching that either. Then his lips curled upwards; he was trying to smirk, but it came out as more of a lecherous grin. "Do I get a goodnight kiss...?"

His partner snickered. "Minus five points, Kensou," she scolded, as she stepped past him through the doorway.

Sie cringed. "Ouch. Where does that leave me...?"

"You'll know it when you need to," she told him, still walking towards the hall. Before she turned the corner, though, she looked back at him with a warm smile. "Good night, Sie."

"Good night, Athena," he replied, his own smile much more friendly now.

\----

They both thought about the date for most of the rest of the night.

Neither of them thought it went particularly well.

Neither of them had been able to have as much fun as they'd wanted to.

And yet both of them thought, _I hope we do it again soon._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...much...headcanon...
> 
> Actually, that's not even true. Some of these "facts" I've imagined for years, but others I made up as I went along--sometimes based solely on what was convenient for the plot. (...I shouldn't be telling you that, should I?) I tried to keep them all consistent with the characters, though; hopefully I succeeded.
> 
> That's it for this story for a while, I think. I've already got plans for two others, and I want to work on them next. But I enjoyed writing up a date between these two, and writing more of them sounds fun. (And writing dates between Kensou and _other_ girls? Especially girls from KOF? _That_ just sounds freaking hilarious.) So I'm sure I'll come back to this at some point, as long as this sudden burst of creativity holds out.
> 
> See you next update!
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>   
> _\--Kensou's Score: -10_  
> 


	3. The Other First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I made it back to this story after all! (My writing difficulties stopped the second I complained about them in my other story. ...I think the secret is not checking my hitcounts.) Right now the plan is to update both stories weekly or so; that may be ambitious, but the other one's already _done_ , so I think I can manage. I've got plenty of other projects in the pipeline, too, so try not to get sick of me just yet!
> 
> This installment guest stars Yuri Sakazaki, probably my favorite female KOFer (besides Athena, of course). Yuri is a lot like Athena, really--they're both cute and bubbly, stronger than they look, and eternally trying to prove themselves. But Yuri seems to have a bit of a cocky streak, and she seems a lot quicker to speak her mind when she's upset. It makes me think she'd be pretty hard to impress...and her usual boy toy is rich, buff and charming. So Kensou's got his work cut out for him here.
> 
> But what happened to Robert anyway? Well...

"You're kidding. He didn't!"

Athena Asamiya sat cross-legged on her bed at the dojo, speaking to a friend--well, more an acquaintance, really--on her cell phone. She would've rather been in a chair, in one of the other rooms...but she was also hiding from Master Chin at the moment. The Master didn't realize the dojo had cell coverage, and he'd be furious if he found out. This was a place of tranquility and discipline, he said, not gossiping and the internet. (She'd been shopping online when her friend had called to chat.)

"Yep. He did! That is _exactly_ what he did."

Half a world away, Yuri Sakazaki paced back and forth in the training room of _her_ dojo, dividing her time between venting and Koh-Kening practice dummies to dust. This call was going to cost a fortune...but she didn't care. Let _Robbie_ pay the bill, if he wanted to take _care_ of her so much. And if he wouldn't, maybe that'd just be the last straw.

"But the prize he's offering...that's so much money!" Athena said in disbelief. "Doesn't Robert realize how much that could do for you and the dojo?"

"Yeah, and he doesn't give a damn," Yuri growled. "'Let _Ryo_ try to win the tournament,' he said. 'I'm getting the most brutal fighters I can for bigger ratings,' he said. _'I don't want to see you get hurt,' he said._ "

"Ugh, that's just awful...!"

"Seriously!" The crown princess of Kyokugen smashed another dummy to splinters, the sound making Athena jump on the other side of the line. "And just because Iori keeps going into the Riot of the Blood and Geese is having nightmares and Ralf is testing some new kind of armor. The nerve!"

Athena didn't respond, slack-jawed and staring at her phone.

"...Athena?"

"T-that's no excuse!" the Psycho Soldier stammered, shaking her head. "I don't care if a _tank_ is in that tournament. If you want to sign up for it, it should be your choice!" _Never mind that you'd have to be completely insane,_ she thought to herself.

" _Thank_ you!" Yuri exclaimed, smiling. "See, this is why I called you, Athena. Nobody else understands, or if they do they don't care. Ryo _completely_ flipped out, Dad threatened to lock me in my room...even King and Mai turned on me!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! King said _she_ wouldn't enter that tournament, and if Ryo and I did we were completely insane." (Athena barely stopped her snicker in time.) "And _Mai_...Mai said she didn't think I could keep up. _She_ said that. Mai! How many times have we fought together!?"

"Well, it _is_ sweet of them all to be concerned for you," Athena argued, cautiously.

"Hmph. 'Sweet,'" Yuri sneered. "If they _really_ cared about me, they'd let me make my _own_ damn decisions."

"...so, you're really going to leave him?" Athena moved on.

" _Yes._ ...no. I don't know," Yuri sighed. "But I at _least_ want to make Robbie sweat a little, you know? Just...go on a date or something. With somebody _totally_ different--someone he'd never expect."

Slowly, the psychic's face curled into a grin.

"...hey, Yuri...do you have much money saved up?" she asked.

"Not a lot. But I have one of Robbie's credit cards," Yuri answered, smirking. "Why, want me to buy you a present? _Australia_ , maybe?"

"No, nothing like that," Athena chuckled. "But how would you like to come out and visit us for a few days?"

The martial artist's latest Koh-Ken faded in her hand. " _Visit_ you? In China? Are you nuts!?"

"Why not? We haven't seen each other in a while. I think we'd have fun, and you _deserve_ a little fun. And most importantly, you're right: you _should_ make Robert sweat a little. You should go on a date." Athena outright grinned. "And I've got just the guy for you..."

\----

A few days earlier, Athena and Kensou had agreed--after some arguing--to only put a date on the line once a week, so Athena wouldn't go insane and Kensou wouldn't go bankrupt. When she came up to him that afternoon, though, and demanded a match, he didn't hesitate for a second. But Sie didn't know what he was getting himself into. The idol was a force of nature that day, throwing out Crystal Bits and Explosions like they were candy. When it was over, he lay unconscious on the ground--and she hadn't taken a hit.

She was already back on the phone when he came to.

 _...okay, I've been played,_ Kensou realized, shaking his head. But why? And for _who_...?

\----

_...this is SO not going to work out._

Several days passed, and Yuri did indeed come out to visit. The first day, she, Athena and Kensou went sightseeing in the city; the second, Yuri traveled to the dojo, catching up with Chin and playing with the kids and doing a little light sparring with all of them. (And swiping some of Chin's hooch when nobody was looking.) But today was the day. Sie Kensou and Yuri Sakazaki were going out on the town--whether Kensou liked it or not.

He thought it was pointless, actually. There was no way in hell Yuri would ever leave Robert. Before, Athena had wanted him to find someone he could get together with; now the two girls were just having fun. Not that he'd ever leave Athena, of course--but wasn't this a waste of time?

Athena, however, remained optimistic--to the point that she helped Kensou get ready. She suggested the place and time. She scheduled Kensou's ride to the city. She put together his outfit: an open brown vest over a white button-down, a red knit tie, and black cotton slacks. ("Business casual", she'd insisted, though he very much doubted Yuri would care.) And before he left, she helped spruce him up, reminded him Yuri would be _trying_ to have fun...and joked that he might even get lucky tonight.

 _Why didn't she just kick me in the balls,_ Kensou groused.

Now Kensou was walking the city streets, searching for the cafe Athena had recommended. The cabbie said he'd let him out right outside, but it was a lie; he couldn't even _see_ an eating spot from his drop point. He'd already walked a mile--and become fifteen minutes late--when _it_ found _him_ , or rather his date did. Sie heard his name called from across the street; when he turned he saw Yuri sitting at a table, smiling wide and waving eagerly.

He looked her up and down for a second, not the least bit surprised at her outfit. She had worn a simple blue blouse, black shorts that came down about to her knees, and a _sun hat_ , made of straw and laughably oversized. She looked even less formal than she had the last two times he'd seen her; together they'd look like two peas in a _factory_ , in two separate cans hundreds of yards away from each other.

Yuri kept smiling at him right up until he'd crossed the street, at which point she brought her hands up to her hips with a frown. "Hey, what kept you, huh, Kensou?" she demanded. "And what's with the getup? You look good and all, but this is a _date_ , not a _dance_."

"You can thank Athena for that one," he answered, smirking. "You look nice too, by the way." And it was true, she _was_ kinda cute; he definitely liked the short hair, or at least he liked it better than the three-foot braid she used to wear.

"Hehe. Thanks," said Yuri, changing back to cheery like someone had flipped on a light switch.

"Yep. Pretty as a picture. In fact," said Sie, smirking and taking out his phone, "you mind if I take a picture?"

" _Awww._ Sure!" Yuri laughed.

While Kensou lined up his shot, she put her hands behind her back and an innocent smile on her face, striking a "girl-next-door" sort of pose as he snapped the photo.

"You know, that is a _great_ idea," said Yuri, her eyes lighting up. "Let me get _my_ phone..."

She started digging through her purse, which looked like a chaotic mess from Sie's vantage point. It worked out for him, though: it gave him time to text Athena the photo on the sly, along with the caption, 'Business casual, huh?'

"Got it," said Yuri triumphantly, holding her cell. Then she raced up to Sie and squashed against him with a grin, putting her arm over his shoulder and her fingers in a peace sign. "Smile for the camera, Kensou!" she told him, holding up the phone for a selfie; caught off guard, he just managed to put on a scary-looking grin before she took it.

" _Perfect,_ " she cheered anyway. She tapped a few buttons, then shouted into the phone, "Having fun with my _new boyfriend_ , Sie Kensou!" The phone's speech-to-text function transcribed it (as 'Having fun with my new boy friend sigh Kenzo') as it posted the pic online.

"Are you trying to get me killed!?" Sie exclaimed, snatching the phone--but far too late.

"Relax, Sie," said Yuri, taking it back and rolling her eyes. "Robbie wouldn't kill my boyfriend. He knows I'd be _really_ mad then."

"And what if _he's_ mad at _you_ and doesn't _care_?" Sie argued.

"Ugh, you're overthinking this. Robert would never get _that_ mad at me!"

"Oh, yeah. Sure. Who could stay mad at _you_ ," he muttered.

"What was that!?"

"Nothing!"

Thankfully, the waiter came then, and Yuri calmed down as she and Sie placed their orders. Afterwards they settled down for the typical small talk, passing stories and gossip back and forth. The fact that they'd already spent the last two days together, though, limited their options a bit. The talk soon shifted to personal trivia...sometimes a little _too_ personal.

"I mean, I didn't even get my period until I was fifteen," Yuri went on, as Kensou wondered where that sweet little girl from the Womens' Team had gone. "You wanna know when Mai got hers?"

"That's okay, really--"

"Eleven. _Eleven!_ " she said in a huff. "I'm convinced that's why she's got those boobs of hers. I mean, do _these_ ," and she pointed at her chest now, "look like boobs that started growing up at eleven?"

There was absolutely no way for Sie to answer that question.

Luckily, Yuri didn't expect him to. "It's okay, though. I mean, I know I don't look _ugly_ or anything," she assured him. Then she smirked. "So when was _your_ little awkward time, hmm, Kensou?"

"How about right now?" he deadpanned.

Yuri giggled. "Embarrassed, huh? I know what that means--another late bloomer! What was it, 15? 16? _...17?_ "

 _Next time I'm kicking Athena's ass,_ Sie vowed. Whether it'd be to win a date or get revenge, he wasn't sure.

Of course, Kensou wasn't exactly the master of suave either. When their snack came, he found the soup to be quite tasty, and he dug in with relish. At first Yuri just giggled, thinking it was cute. As time went on, though, she started to change her tune.

"...you're kind of a pig, huh, Kensou?" she told him.

"Mmm?" The sound came from his throat, really; his mouth was too full.

"You're slurping that up like there's a prize at the bottom," she chided. "Is it your favorite food or something?"

"Actually, I've never tried it before. It's really good, though," he replied. Then he held out a spoonful for her. "You want some?"

Yuri was _just_ polite enough not to groan in disgust.

"I'll, uh...I'll pass, thanks," she said instead, waving him away. "So what _is_ your favorite food?"

Kensou grinned. "Oh, you didn't know? Meat buns, of course!" he laughed. "I eat 'em all the _time_. Haven't you ever seen me with one before a match?"

"I don't pay attention to what everybody's eating," Yuri answered with a smirk.

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Sie admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Seriously, though--meat buns are great. I don't know whether they're better from here or Japan. I mean here, you've got better _quality_ , but there are so many different _types_ in Japan. Neat ones, too. In fact, they just came out with..."

Yuri could only take about a minute of this before she snapped.

" _Enough_ already!" she broke in, stopping Sie dead in his tracks. "It's _just food_ , you know??"

"Just...food?" he asked curiously, as if he'd never thought of _any_ food as "just" food in his life.

"...you work out a lot, don't you?"

"Huh? Uh...I guess, maybe. Thanks?"

Yuri just nodded in reply, so Kensou went back to slurping up his soup. She wasn't sure if that was better or worse.

From there, the meal passed without incident--or interest--until the check came. Kensou took care of it quickly, then started to leave...but Yuri, looking annoyed, pulled him back and reminded him of the tip. He assured her that in his country, tipping at cafes was unnecessary and even confusing (unlike in Southtown, where 25% was expected and anything under twenty might get you shot). She responded by saying that was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard, putting down the tip herself, and leaving in another huff.

While her back was turned, Sie quickly snatched up the tip and put it in his pocket. Yuri told him to hurry up just an instant later. As he jogged towards her, he decided that keeping it, which was basically stealing from her, would be better than giving it back, which was basically suicide.

"So what now?" Yuri asked when he caught up.

 _...there's more?_ Kensou thought.

"Huh? Uh, well... Are there any more stores you wanna check out?"

"Not really," Yuri shrugged.

"Hmm. Well, there's a few good sights we haven't seen. Maybe Zhaojue Temple?"

"Not big on religion."

"The Jinsha Museum?"

"Museums make me sleepy."

"Look at the pandas?"

" _All bears are evil._ "

"Get some McDonald's??"

"We already ate."

"...how about we go for a walk?"

Yuri smirked at him for that one. "Boy, breaking the bank on me, aren't you, Kensou?"

"Wha--!? But--I _just offered_ \--!"

"It's okay," said Yuri, giggling. "A walk sounds nice, actually." She took Sie's hand and headed off quickly, pretty much dragging him along (and not just because of the pace).

The two didn't talk for a while, simply walking and looking around. Sie found this part of the city dark and drab, something seen all too often in big cities in China...or Japan, or the U.S., or _anywhere_ to some degree. Some stores stood out, like the cafe they'd just left, but they were sprinkled in randomly among nondescript, boring little industry shops. There were no trees or grass patches, just a lot of road...but there weren't many cars right now, either.

Fittingly, Yuri chose that moment to comment, "The sky here sure is, uh... _gray_ , huh, Kensou?"

"Yeah," Kensou sighed. "China's been getting more advanced, and it's caused a lot of pollution. It's happened in other cities too, like Los Angeles, but you see it more often here. I love modern technology and stuff when I'm _using_ it--but when I'm not, sometimes I can't help but wonder if the world is really better off."

"Huh." Yuri thought for a moment. "I've never thought of it that way...but I _get_ it. The school's been around forever, you know? There's a lot of tradition, and Dad talks about it all the time. Gets mad when we ignore him, too," she grumbled. "But it kinda sounds like life was _calmer_ back then. More peaceful. The world's a better place now, for sure, but it might've have been a _happier_ one before."

"Yeah, exactly," said Sie, nodding. He smiled for the first time in a while. "I don't get to talk about Chinese culture much. The only person I know that's _really_ interested is about a thousand years old."

Yuri giggled. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I don't know much about it either, though..." Then her eyes lit up. "Hey, is there anything you've ever wondered about _American_ culture? I could tell you _tons_ about that."

"Huh. Well, there is _one_ thing, actually."

"Yeah?"

"If they sell guns in convenience stores, why are there so many _gun_ stores? Are they cheaper there or something...?"

Slowly, Yuri stopped, turned to him, and narrowed her eyes.

_...and it was finally going well..._

"We do _not_ have guns in convenience stores!" she exclaimed, her hands flying to her hips.

"Really? Not even in Southtown?"

"No! Not even in Southtown--my _home_ town!" she snapped. But then she blinked. "...well, there _is_ that place on 3rd street... But that is _not_ a legitimate business!!" She turned and stalked away from him, walking even faster now.

"Hey, c'mon, Yuri! I didn't know!" Sie exclaimed, chasing after her. It took him a few seconds to catch up; she could move _fast_ when she wanted to. Then, right when he did, she suddenly stopped cold and whipped around, about to yell at him again.

And he crashed right into her.

...and knocked the sun hat off her head.

...which got caught by the wind, and started blowing away.

They both stared at it for a second in shock. Then Yuri growled and rolled her eyes. "Oh, you've got to be _kidding_ me! C'mon, Sie!" She scrambled to her feet and took off...then looked back and found Kensou still on the sidewalk. "What the hell--what're you waiting for!? C'mon!!"

"But there's no way we can catch it!" Sie argued, even as he forced himself off the ground. And he was right: the floaty hat was already a block away, and ten feet in the air besides. But Yuri raced on, undaunted, and he knew he had to follow. They chased it a couple more blocks, followed it around a corner--

\--and Yuri ran headlong into a street sign, toppling back to the ground.

"Holy crap! _Yuri!!_ " Sie shouted, at her side in an instant. "Are you alright!?"

"I'll...I'm fine," Yuri mumbled, shaking her head and holding her temple (and looking anything but fine). "Just keep going...!"

"You _can't_ be serious. You're hurt!"

"If I need help I'll call for it, okay? Now hurry!"

"Yuri, _let it go_ ," he urged her. "I'll buy you a new one!"

"That hat cost $250," she told him, dead serious.

He turned around and ran like hell, wondering what the _hell_ Robert had been thinking.

Kensou chased the stupid thing for twenty minutes before it blew out of sight. Finally he slumped over and gasped for air, defeated...and then realized he had _no_ idea how to get back to Yuri. He had given her his phone number, but stupidly forgotten to get hers; he'd have to wait for _her_ to call--if she even could. Breathlessly, he asked for directions to the cafe, then started running again, praying he could find her.

Once again, she found him first, shouting at him from a side street he had nearly passed by. He turned to find her walking toward him, looking dead on her feet (and definitely _not_ smiling this time). "Thank goodness," Kensou sighed, as he approached her. "You okay, Yuri?"

"Yeah...no thanks to _you_ ," Yuri muttered, her voice dripping acid. "D'you know how much Chinese I know, Kensou? _Shi._ Remember what _that_ means?"

"Yes..."

"That's right, Kensou. 'Yes'. ...that is _not very useful_ when you are _lost in China_ ," she growled.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I should've called," Sie moaned. "I forgot to get your number, though--"

"Oh, _that_ was the problem? ...well couldn't _Athena_ have given it to you?"

He blinked...then groaned. "Ugh, I am a _moron_ ," he said, facepalming. "But Yuri--why didn't you call us?"

"Actually, I did. Athena didn't answer--and neither did you. Here's why."

She pushed a few buttons on her cell, then held it out for him to hear--as it played a no-longer-in-service message.

"...what the hell?" Kensou took out his phone and looked at it...and dropped his jaw. It still showed his text to Athena, but also an 'Undeliverable' error. He'd forgotten to pay his bill yesterday; his provider had cut him off.

"Um. I, uh... _wow_. I mean...er..." Finally he just looked at her with a sheepish grin. "...my bad?"

"Let's just go home, Sie," said Yuri, shaking her head.

Right now, "home" for her was a lavish hotel downtown, the best one in the city. Sie paid for the cab gladly, though she had had to call for it. He also offered to pay for the hat--over time--but she just waved him away.

"Sorry again, Yuri," Sie finished, as she left the cab without a word. "Hey, keep in touch with us, okay?"

"Yyyyeah. I'll call you."

She slammed the door, started up the steps, and took out her phone...but not to call one of Sie's teammates.

"Hey, Robbie. Yeah, I'm fine. ...yeah. No, _I'm_ sorry."

\----

Kensou got home around sunset, about an hour later. Athena was waiting for him outside--but happily, humming a tune and doing some knitting of all things. She could barely wait for him to get up the steps before bounding over to him. "So? How'd it go??" she asked.

"Well...the good news is, she's not mad at Robert anymore," he told her.

"Oh. Huh. That's good, I guess." Then she narrowed her eyes. " _...why?_ "

"Yeah, um...that's the bad news," he told her, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You screwed up, huh?"

"In ways you can't imagine..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am learning _so much_ about China from this fic. (It's amazing the things you learn when doing research for a story.) Some of it _is_ worn down like today's setting, but a lot of it seems beautiful and complex; I might like to go there someday. Kensou has become a tightrope walk for me--I'm trying to give him a serious side to make him more interesting, but keep in enough comic relief to make him still Kensou. Let me know if you think I've fallen off the wire.
> 
> Next up it's probably Athena's turn. (Sie's still extra-motivated to beat her, after all.) Think he'll use it to get out of the hole, or just dig it deeper?
> 
> See you next update!
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>   
> _\--Kensou's Score: -20 (10 deducted after the explanation)_  
> 


	4. The Second Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, things are still rolling writing-wise. This story is _not_ written out ahead of time, but today's update didn't give me too much trouble. I've also got plans written out for the next four chapters, so if something slows this story down ideas won't be it. ...it'll be execution. :P So far so good though!
> 
> Back to Athena/Kensou this time, as planned. This chapter's a little lighter on humor and heavier on the feels; Kensou tries harder with Athena, after all. It also does a bit for the admittedly-tiny subplot. Bonus points if you can figure out what it even is. :)
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The day after his date with Yuri, Kensou demanded Athena for a match of his own, looking to settle the score. But she didn't fold as easily as he did, telling him he'd have to wait out the rest of the week. (He was hardly innocent in that disaster, after all.) During that time, Master Chin had them spar and practice together just as often as usual, and Sie's anger faded soon enough...but his resolve never wavered.

When the day came, Athena arrived at the training room in the morning to find Kensou and Chin already there, Chin coaching Kensou as he went through his morning exercises. As he heard her, though, Sie turned, looked at her and smiled, wordlessly and with fire in his eyes.

"...I'm going to lose this one, aren't I," said Athena with a smirk.

"Oh, don't go in like _that_ , Athena!" Kensou called, punching his fist into his palm. "Otherwise this won't be any fun!!"

As Athena swallowed, Chin sighed and shook his head at both of them. "Sie is correct, child," he said nevertheless, turning to her. "I have told you several times now: you cannot let this _competition_ of yours hinder your training. Your opponent is of similar skill level, and you can defeat him if you match his determination. Can you do that, Athena?"

"I can, Master," she told him as she went into her fighting stance, sounding much more certain than she felt.

"Good," said Chin, nodding. "Always remember: the fight is never over before it has begun."

But it was. Just like last week, one fighter took the advantage almost at once, and the other was quickly on the ropes. But while Athena had won with overpowering psychic force, Kensou relied on overwhelming brute strength, attacking twice as fast as she did and countering every move she made. He wore her down relentlessly, bit by bit but at high speed; by the time he finished the fight with a Shinryuu Seio Rekkyaku kick combo, he'd taken a _couple_ of hits--but he hadn't even felt them.

Athena woke up a moment later in a daze. She found Kensou standing over her with concern, as he'd done as soon as she went down. He extended a hand, smiling, and unsteadily she took it. "...did you sneak in steel-toed boots or something...?" she mumbled as she rose, not entirely sure she was joking.

Kensou pulled her up the rest of the way, and held her fast when she wobbled. "You alright?" he asked carefully.

"...yeah, I'm ok. Good fight," she told him, with a smile and a bow.

"Good fight," he repeated, bowing. Then he looked to the side awkwardly. Then he turned away from her completely, hiding his face.

And then he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"...yyyEEE _AAA **HHH!!** I did it!!_ " Kensou screamed, jumping into the air as Athena nearly jumped out of her skin. "I won! I got another one!! _We've got another date!!_ " He proceeded to do the most erratic and frankly frightening victory dance she'd ever seen, as if he was literally losing his mind with joy.

"Oh, brother..." she mumbled, facepalming and shaking her head. ...but in a little bit, she couldn't help but open her eyes, see him _still_ going nuts in the gaps between her fingers, and start chuckling. His happiness was infectious, it seemed.

Not so much to Master Chin, though, who looked down and sighed again. "I always knew this could be trouble..." he grumbled, though he knew he was just talking to himself at this point.

\----

The two ended up going out the very next day, as Kensou had known where he'd wanted to take Athena for a while. He had spent days agonizing over his choice, trying to figure out somewhere she would truly enjoy. Finally, he had decided on...a shopping mall. She _did_ look pleased when he told her the plan, though, even if a part of her wished he'd thought of something more special.

They left the dojo with a lot less fanfare than last time. Athena had dressed more stylishly today, wearing a shiny silver blouse, sleek black pants and a dark brown wig. Kensou, on the other hand, had gone as casual as possible, with blue jeans and his familiar blue hoodie over a black t-shirt. (She couldn't really blame him for that one.) They spent most of the drive from the dojo talking about what they could expect, since both of them were familiar with malls but neither had gone to one in years. The ride was a lot less awkward this time, they both privately noticed.

Things got awkward again, however, when they actually reached the mall. They had pulled up from the south side, getting out of the car not quite in front of the east entrance. Sie opened the door, then held it wide for Athena, not really paying attention. She thanked him, got out and stood next to him as he closed it--and then noticed something he hadn't.

" _Awwwwww!!_ Look, Sie, look! It's adorable!!"

Startled, Kensou looked at her first, seeing her pointing and grinning and looking positively giddy. He followed her finger to the top floors at the far end of the mall. It seemed someone had installed a public art project since he'd last been to the place--and a big one, at that.

They were looking at a giant panda, hanging off of the side of the building as if it would climb to the top.

"What an incredible sculpture!" Athena marveled, walking toward it and cocking her head to look at it from different angles. "I wonder what it's made of... Why didn't you tell me about this thing, Sie??" She turned, looking somehow both angry and delighted--but then she just looked confused. "Uhh...Sie?"

He was standing stock still, staring at the thing with narrowed eyes. " _All bears are evil,_ " he whispered from somewhere else entirely.

"Kensou? ...hello?" said Athena, waving her hand in front of his face. She finally had to drag him along with her, literally pulling him out of his nightmare.

The pair went through the entrance to find far more than they'd expected. The mall itself was nice enough, but it soon became clear it was just one part of a miniature city, which also included a hotel, residences, office buildings, a park and even an ice rink. Athena had heard malls were becoming "experiences" these days, but she hadn't known that meant all this.

"My goodness," she mumbled, looking this way and that. "What should we do first, Sie?"

"Your choice, Athena," he replied, pretty much just looking at her.

She thought for a moment, then grinned. "Ice rink," she told him, looking at him. "I want to see you skate."

"...you hate me, don't you?" he asked, smirking back.

Unfortunately, Athena's plan backfired. It turned out Kensou was a natural with ice skates, learning how to stay up and move in minutes and skating circles around his teammate in ten. She, meanwhile, could barely do the former, occasionally wobbling or almost losing her balance. "I _swear_ I could do this when I was little," she muttered, staring down nervously.

"You're looking at your feet too much, Athena," he chided, skating up next to her. "It's a rhythm you've got to feel. Put your foot down, find your balance and just _move_."

Athena rolled her eyes, thinking the advice sounded silly. But she tried it anyway, and to her surprise it actually helped. "Okay, _maybe_ this'll work," she mumbled, planting one foot after the other and starting to move faster.

"There you go," Sie cheered. "Starting to remember now?"

"I might be," she agreed. Then she smirked at him. "Wanna race?"

"Don't get cocky," he laughed.

"Watch me." She took off, started to pull forward--then lost balance, yelped, angled over and crashed into him.

Kensou managed to catch her, pulled her into his side...and lost all focus. The world immediately narrowed down to Athena, clutched in his arm, pressed against his chest...just as it had every time he'd caught her, or every time she'd graced him with a hug. His subconscious kept them on their feet, however, pumping his legs frantically until he regained his rhythm. From there he slowed them to a stop so she could get back to her feet.

"Ah heh," Athena chuckled nervously. "...five points, Kensou." Unfortunately she said it while he was still holding her, and he didn't hear a word.

Soon enough she got the hang of it, and they skated for a little while longer, only quitting when Sie noticed her looking bored. From there she led them to the food court, where they picked up some shrimp lo mein and tea. The tea was quite good, and for Athena, the meal actually had too _much_ shrimp. While she finished her noodles, Sie looked down at her spares repeatedly, but didn't slow his conversation. Eventually she smirked and slid over the bowl, nearly giving him some points for restraint--until he snatched them up in less time than it took him to thank her.

After that they started walking the mall, shops stretching out in front of them for what seemed like miles. At first Athena looked around the shops eagerly, wanting to go in almost all of them but waiting for a standout. After a while, though, she noticed that Kensou didn't seem to be looking at _all_ , his eyes just falling in random directions. Suspicious, she tested him, saying she wanted to go to the Gap. When he agreed without missing a beat, she knew something was up.

She only had to keep up the ruse a little longer, as she caught him stifling a yawn while she looked at some blouses. At that she whirled and exclaimed, "I knew it! Sie, you're _bored_!"

"Wha?? Uh, no! Of course not!" he claimed, holding the back of his neck and laughing a little too much.

"Don't even try it, Kensou. Admit it: you don't want to be here."

He started to object again...but, seeing her face, deflated and sighed. "It's just _this_ place, Athena. I mean, what do I know about womens' clothes? I couldn't even tell you what you look best in." _You look best in everything,_ he thought but didn't say.

"You're still lying, Sie. You don't even want to be at this _mall_ ," she accused. But then she smiled. "And it's _okay_ , Kensou. Really. I can go shopping any time; this is a _date_. I want to be where _you_ want to be. All right?"

He chuckled. "You do, huh...?" he mumbled.

"Yes," Athena insisted, nodding. "So where did _you_ want to go today?"

Kensou smiled. "Well..."

\----

"It's perfect, Sie."

He had taken her to People's Park, the biggest park in the city. Beautiful foliage and well-tended grass surrounded them, broken up in this area by just a few locals and a couple of sidewalks. Further down the walkway, though, the place opened up into a plaza, filled with tables, benches, booths hawking this and that, and most of all people. But even _they_ seemed laid back, and the park remained peaceful; clearly this was a place to relax.

"Glad you like it," he told her, grinning. "I love it here. Come here all the time on my days out."

Athena smirked. "You've got kind of a secret sensitive side, huh?"

"Nah, not really," her partner said, shrugging. "I just get a little spiritual when I come home, that's all."

"I can see that," she told him, her smirk becoming a smile.

Athena had wanted to take a walk around the grounds, admiring the scenery. But Kensou insisted they start at the social scene, telling her there was something he'd always wanted to see her try. They passed both tourists and locals as they walked through the plaza, most of whom gave them a quick greeting or nod. Then they reached the booth he wanted, and Athena's eyebrows raised.

"...'ear cleaning'?"

"That's right!" Sie replied as he paid the man on duty, an old fellow with a white coat, a bald head and a wide smile. "It's a Chinese tradition. You're gonna love it."

"Doesn't it hurt?" she asked skeptically.

"Oh, not with this guy," Kensou assured her, as the cleaner gave her a vaguely insulted look. "Best in the city. You'll never know what hit you."

"If you say so," she murmured, taking a wary seat at the booth.

The cleaner picked up his tools of the trade, each with its own purpose but just a stick with a pointy end to Athena. She leaned her head to the side, and he quickly went to work. Her face turned to a grimace for a second; then she let out a small cry of pain. "Minus five points, Kensou...!" she moaned, glaring at him. "I can't believe you thought this was-- _oh_."

Her eyes widened, and she visibly relaxed. The cleaner had hit a nerve, as they tended to do; it was like acupuncture, really--but in a good way. ...a _very_ good way, if Athena's response was any indication.

" _Ooh._ Mmm... Oh!" she squeaked, with a tiny jump and a grin. From there she faded into a wide, euphoric smile, as she closed her eyes and relaxed even further. "Mmm... _mmm_..."

By now Kensou had turned his back, hiding his wide eyes, blazing cheeks, and...well, something else. _Are you trying to kill me, woman!?_ he thought, having to stop himself from thinking it _to_ her. He knew it felt nice, that's why he'd wanted her to try it; he'd even heard it called "aural sex" once. But this was _ridiculous_.

He risked a quick glance at the cleaner, ready to deck him if he'd had any reaction at all. But he was just smiling, sometimes chuckling, as if it happened all the time. _...maybe I should come here on ALL my dates,_ Sie mused.

Then the old man was finished, and Athena let out a deeply satisfied sigh. Kensou regained his composure as she settled down, and he couldn't help but tease her. "Still minus five, Athena?" he said, smirking.

" _Plus_ five, Kensou. _Plus_ five," she said back blissfully. "...hell, plus _ten_."

"I told you," he laughed.

"There we go. All done," said the cleaner, putting away his tools. He'd been wiping what he'd extracted on a napkin, which almost he threw away--until he remembered he'd been treating a first-timer.

"...d'you want to see it?" he asked.

"Huh?" said Athena, confused.

"The _wax_ , my dear," he said with a mischievous grin. "You want to see what I pulled out...?"

Athena thought for a second, then turned to Sie.

"Do I want to see it?" she asked him.

"You don't want to see it," he told her.

"I'm gonna see it," she said anyway. She turned and looked, then turned back quickly. "I didn't want to see it," she agreed, looking pale.

"Have a nice day!" the old man told them, laughing as Athena walked off unsteadily and Kensou gave him a glare.

Once she'd recovered, Athena quickly asked Kensou to show her around the grounds again. This time he obliged, taking her through the most picturesque portions of the park. They didn't spend so much time sightseeing, though, as talking to each other, which came easily to Sie here and which Athena had wanted anyway. Eventually they stopped entirely, focused on sharing their pasts.

"...you put a _scorpion_ in your second grade teacher's _desk_!?"

"What can I say? I didn't like her."

Sie and Athena were sitting on a park bench now, laughing and smirking...respectively.

"How did you even get it in there!?" Sie exclaimed.

"Very, _very_ carefully," Athena giggled.

"Wow," he said, shaking his head. "I can't believe _you_ were such a little terror."

"It was only during second year," she assured him. "Before that, I was pretty normal. And after...well, my third grade teacher was really great. He was the kind of man that could show you a thousand things you did wrong, but _still_ make you think you'd get the assignment right next time. He _believed_ in us, made most of us believe in _ourselves_. Might've changed my outlook on life, I think. I was always a _happy_ child, but until then I wasn't so...well..."

"Relentlessly optimistic?" Kensou offered.

"...I guess that's one way to put it," said Athena, smirking again and crossing her arms.

"Amazing. I should send that man flowers," Sie laughed. Then he shook his head. "I just figured you had really cool parents or something."

"Well I _did_. ...for a while," she added, glancing to the side. "They just weren't the only ones that helped me, that's all."

Her partner gave her a measured look. "...you never _did_ tell me what was up with them, you know."

"No. I didn't." She didn't go on.

"Come on, Athena. You can tell me," Kensou urged, taking her hand. "I'm not just a date, I'm your _friend_. It sounds like something you'd want to get off your chest. And I'm here for you." He squeezed it firmly.

"...yeah. _You_ are." She paused. "Tell me something, Kensou. I know what happened when you found out about your powers...but what happened after?"

"'After?'"

"Yes, after. _After_ that. ...at home."

"Oh. You mean, my dad?" She nodded. "Well, he was _thrilled_ , of course."

"Of course," said Athena quietly.

"He was _proud_ , even though it could've happened to anybody. And he wanted to see everything I could do. ...actually, he went a little nuts for a while. He thought we could use it to make money or something," Sie laughed. "But before we could figure out _how_ , he changed his mind. He said I should think about how it could _help_ people instead. He didn't want me to be a cop or a superhero or anything--just give things little nudges, here and there, when I could. So I did. It's what I was doing when the master found me, in fact."

As he wound down, he looked at Athena again, and was shocked to find a tear running down her cheek. He frowned, but before he could ask, _she_ asked _him_ , "And what then, Sie? What happened when Master Chin wanted to take you away?"

"Well," said Kensou cautiously, still looking at that tear, "he got pretty bummed out, and he said he'd miss me. But the rest of the time he kept telling me 'go, go, go'. He said he knew I could do good deeds with my powers, but he never thought I had _that_ much potential. And if I did, I _had_ to use it. He wouldn't have it any other way."

Athena nodded solemnly, looking down; a couple more tears had leaked out. "He was a great man, Sie," she told him. "I'm very sorry he's gone."

"...I take it your parents didn't want you to go?"

"Oh, they would've wanted it," she said bitterly, wiping her eyes. "They would've been thrilled, too. ...but I didn't tell them."

"What...?" Kensou looked at her like she'd sprouted another head. "But...but you _talked_ to them. You talked to your mom at the airport."

"I talked to a dial tone, Sie." She swallowed. "We weren't really speaking, by then."

"...so you ran away...?"

Athena barked a laugh. "I _wish_. No, I didn't run away, Kensou. ...I didn't run away at all."

She was looking down again now, and off to the side, beginning to tear up once more. Instinctively, Kensou moved over and held her, and she began to weep. _My god,_ he thought, staring at the back of her head in disbelief. _What in the world HAPPENED there...??_

He wasn't going to learn today, though. Before long, Athena pulled back and said, "Let's talk about this some other time, okay, Sie...?"

"Okay. I understand. ...but someday."

"All right," she told him, smiling and clutching his hand.

\----

The two ended up holding hands on their way out of the park. (No one else there was doing it, not even the couples.) They had stayed until sunset, so when Kensou began the long process of hailing a cab, Athena stopped him and ordered a Didi instead, refusing to let him pay for it.

They took it back to their usual driver, not speaking much but not really needing to. Once they were in a private car again, Athena scooted over next to Sie and slowly, carefully lowered her head onto his shoulder. It didn't make her heart and stomach clench like last time; actually it made them feel a little bit lighter. So she sighed and relaxed against him...and when he reached behind her to her waist and pulled her closer, she only made a soft, contented moan.

Then, glacially, millimeter by millimeter, his hand crept up her side.

"Far enough, Sie," she told him, firmly but pleasantly. He put his hand back without a word, and settled for leaning his cheek on her head as she relaxed again.

After a while she fell asleep on him, probably the greatest moment of Sie's life. Eventually he went under too, and when they got back to the dojo, they got to share the mortifying moment of having their driver wake them up. They stood apart awkwardly until he was well out of sight, then clasped hands, walked up the steps to the porch, and stopped at the door.

"Better this time?" Kensou dared to ask.

" _Much_ better," Athena assured him, smiling. "I think your homeland brings out the best in you, Sie. I'm starting to learn a lot about you...and so far, I like what I see."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I'm learning about you too. You're starting to feel more like a _person_ , instead of just...just an ideal," he mumbled, glancing aside nervously.

"Well I'd sure rather be _that_ ," she chuckled. But then she smirked again. "I'm not letting you off the hook, though. We're still having our matches, and you're still seeing other people if I win. You stopped looking for other girls for so long that you deserve some time to catch up--whether you want it or not."

"Uhm...okay," he agreed, not agreeing at all but knowing now was not the time to argue.

"All right then." She opened the door, and he quickly took over, holding it open wide. She stepped through, then looked back and smiled. "...good night, Sie."

"Good night, Athena," he told her.

And then she hesitated.

It was just, _just_ long enough that Kensou decided to take the chance. Still holding the door, he moved toward Athena with soft, smooth steps, as if she was a wounded animal. Athena's smile faded, but she did not move. Kensou stopped less than a foot away from her, but his head kept moving further. Slowly, _too_ slowly, he crept toward her, his eyes closed, his lips pushed slightly forward...

...and she leaned in to meet him.

As they shared their first kiss, a myriad of thoughts and feelings flew through Athena's mind. Part of her couldn't _believe_ this was happening; part of her couldn't believe it hadn't happened already. She wished he'd taken more initiative, but appreciated his concern; she liked that he'd given her fair warning, but disliked how _much_ he'd given her. But mostly she thought about the kiss itself--the feel of his lips meeting hers, which was nothing like she'd expected. They were a little wet and wrinkly, but also soft yet firm...and more than that, they didn't feel as _wrong_ as she'd feared. She wasn't sure they felt _right_ , exactly--but she didn't pull away.

Of course, Kensou wasn't thinking or feeling any of that. He felt nothing but elation, not even excitement. The greatest moment of his life had been outclassed ten minutes later...and ten times over.

The two broke apart just before they needed to breathe. They smiled at each other, and Athena reached up and touched Sie's cheek. "Did I...was that good?" he asked, adorably uncertain.

She gave him a single warm chuckle. "Five points," she awarded softly, and his face lit up with a grin.

Once the grin got too goofy for her, Athena giggled and left him standing there, walking back through the door and down to the hall. "See you tomorrow," she told him, before moving out of sight...at which point Kensou collapsed on the floor, landing in a _very_ awkward position but still grinning like a loon.

\----

They spent the rest of the night feeling pleasantly surprised--to different degrees, of course.

Athena went to bed with a smile--on her face and in her heart--and drifted back into slumber peacefully.

Kensou went to bed _still_ grinning, his heart beating like a drum, and took about two hours to get to sleep.

And yet both of them thought, a number of times: _Is this really happening...?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, well. Things are progressing rather quickly, huh? I wasn't sure, going in, if this would really be a love story. I'm still not _certain_ even now--but it's sure starting to look that way. I've been hiding what city I placed the Soldiers by for a while, but at this point I might as well come out and tell you it's Chengdu. Both of today's locations are real, popular tourist spots there...and so is the giant panda. (I'm sorry, I just _had_ to go back to the bear joke. Little self-indulgence there.)
> 
> Next time we'll be leaving China, and I'll be sad to see it go. I'll have to start learning a whole new culture now--unless the next setting's in the U.S., of course. Fair warning: the next two chapters are gonna be a little heavier on the battles. They're both important (at least to me), and I've got big plans for them.
> 
> See you next update!
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>   
> _\--Kensou's Score: 0_  
> 


	5. Another First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, we got some new entries and updates over the weekend, especially at FFN. Sweet! Now here's hoping we get updates to some of our _other_ recent series. TigerTigrez? GooeyHeat? RobertCop? Hope to read from you again soon! (...when did I become the fandom cheerleader...?)
> 
> This one, uh, got away from me a little bit. The actual date is kinda short, but the rest of the chapter more than makes up for it; apologies in advance. Also, my _sincere_ apologies to any fans of Team Korea reading today. ...you'll see why.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The next morning, things were actually a bit awkward between Athena and Sie. Not in a bad way, though; it was a more pleasant awkwardness, where they'd occasionally feel their hearts beating faster or have a quick flash of embarrassment. Even Bao and Momoko noticed it, and they kept looking at each other and smirking. (Master Chin noticed it too, of course...but he ignored it, or at least he seemed to.) They went on with their training as usual, though, and quickly fell into the routine. By the end of the day, things were pretty much back to normal.

Then, a few days later, Athena's agency called. They had scored her a big gig in the U.S., they said--an East Coast tour, where she'd be headlined by a similar Japanese idol trying to make her splash overseas. It was five dates over two weeks, a fairly laid-back pace for a tour, and came with a paycheck so high even Athena's eyes widened. Chin didn't approve of her suspending her training for money, and Athena felt guilty about it too...but Kensou reminded them that she'd also be doing a good deed, helping to elevate a fellow artist that might inspire people too someday. Chin reluctantly agreed, and Athena beamed, both at the idea and at Kensou for having it.

The tour hit New York, Tampa, Southtown, Raleigh, and Philadelphia. Athena particularly looked forward to the Southtown date, since they had a number of friends there. (Kensou, not so much. Yuri lived there, after all.) Leaving the kids--who spoke almost no English--with Chin's beloved, they left in the morning and arrived in New York in, well, the morning, which was a fun experience for all. The concert went off without a hitch, however, and Athena became fast friends with her headliner.

Once they got to Tampa, they had a day off before the next show--just in time for Athena and Sie's next scheduled match.

Chin had brought them to a local gym for the day, renting out one of the back rooms for a half hour for the match itself. Neither student was _heavily_ motivated this time, but Sie still showed plenty of spirit as they started the fight. Athena, however, went into it smiling and laughing, like she didn't care about the outcome at all. Chin wondered if she was even going to try; in fact, he wouldn't be surprised if she threw this match.

"Stop!" he suddenly barked.

Both Kensou and Athena skid to a halt. "...huh?" said Kensou intelligently.

"Is something wrong, Master?" Athena asked.

"Perhaps," Chin replied.

 _This_ was why, for all these years, Chin hadn't encouraged his pupils to start a relationship: it was going to cause Problems. First they'd lose focus while fighting each other; then they wouldn't even want to hurt each other. Then they wouldn't want to see each other get hurt at _all_ \--and while he knew _that_ ship had sailed, it was only going to get worse as they got closer.

Chin wasn't training these kids to be street fighters. He was training them to be _soldiers_. The _Psycho_ Soldiers. He knew that the Sacred Treasures could stand against Orochi, that the Ikari faction could stand against just about anything else...but someday they might need help. Chin _knew_ , in fact--could feel it in his bones--that someday the world would need the Psycho Soldiers. And if they kept wasting their time with nonsense like this, they would never be ready for it.

_...very well, Athena. You wish to lose this battle? That can be arranged._

"It has come to my attention," Chin announced, "that you two haven't fought under special conditions for a while. As you know, this is a vital part of your training. We've done it before, we'll do it again, and we're going to do it today.

"For this match, you are to use _no_ psychic powers."

Kensou and Athena's jaws both dropped.

" _...what!?_ "

"Are you _kidding_ me??"

"But, Master! This match is part of our competition!"

"Seriously, Teach! You're taking _way_ more moves from her than me here!"

"Oh? Am I hearing you right?" Chin asked, with narrowed eyes. "Are you saying that your _competition_ is interfering with your _training_? Because if it is, we should probably call off this little game of yours before it affects your performance. ...so is it?"

"But--"

" _Is it?_ "

The _sensei_ and his disciples stared each other down.

Finally, Athena closed her eyes and sighed deeply through her nose.

"...you're right, Master," she said grimly. "We can't let something as simple as our _happiness_ get in the way of our _workouts_. So if this is the match you think we need to have, then we'll have it." She turned back to her partner and dropped into her stance. "Come on, Kensou."

"But...Athena..." he struggled.

"Let's _go_ , Sie," she told him. "And don't you _dare_ hold back on me."

"If you say so," Kensou yielded, as he dropped into his own.

He approached her cautiously, pulling his punches despite Athena's wishes. But he found out quickly that that wasn't going to cut it. She came at him with stone-faced determination, throwing the best strikes in her arsenal with surprising speed and force. He tried a straight punch and had it painfully batted away; he whiffed with a scooping palm strike, then got punished with a hopping hip press. Soon, as a crushing roundhouse sent him to the floor, he realized that if he wanted to win this thing--and avoid hurting her feelings--he'd need to step up his game a bit.

From there Kensou approached it like a tournament match, mixing in his more advanced techniques. He caught her with a whirling Ryugaku Sai, sending her flying; he laid into her with a Ryutouda combo, and though she blocked it it stung her forearms fiercely. As it turned out, though, she still had some good moves of her own. She leaped into the air, then surprised him by coming down in a Phoenix Arrow--the _old_ kind, from before she'd added a psychic shield. She strung together an elbow, a bicycle kick, and a Psycho Sword; without the Sword part, it was really just a rising punch--but it was still enough to send him staggering to the side, unable to counter as she landed.

Soon Sie was battered, exhausted...and desperate. After the next exchange, he waited for Athena to get close, then threw out a devastating double palm strike. She blocked it, but the force of it staggered her, leaving her open--and he followed with the Shinryuu Seioushou. No less than forty-nine punches machine-gunned into Athena's stomach, followed by a fiftieth to the jaw that launched her into the air.

Thinking it was over, Kensou took some time to recover, bending down and gasping for air. As he did, he saw something small and white bounce across the floor; looking closer, he realized it was a tooth. Grimacing, he looked back at his partner--and found her stumbling to her feet, holding her stomach and spitting out blood.

"Jeez, Athena, are you alright!?" Kensou cried.

"I can fix it later," she choked out, wobbling into her stance. "Now come on! Press the advantage...!"

Growling in frustration, Kensou did just that, knowing he'd never hear the end of it if he didn't. He sprinted in with a Siku Zanryu, which she ducked just in time; from there he launched one attack after another, getting blocked but keeping her on the defensive. Finally he feinted, which fooled her, then went into the Shinryuu Seio Rekkyaku...only to find that he _hadn't_ fooled her, and she'd managed to block that as well.

He didn't find this out, of course, until he landed from the move--and she hit him with the Psycho Medley.

The move didn't really use psychic powers at first. It was just a series of strikes, paired with Teleport-fueled costume changes--but she didn't even do _those_ , not about to let Chin call her on a technicality. It did _end_ with an energy blast, however, so she finished with an even rarer combo instead: a left straight, a right palm, and her _own_ double palm strike, this one just as strong as Kensou's (if not stronger).

The blow caught him in the chest, cracking two ribs. Even without psychic force, it threw him across the room--and, since they'd switched sides when she ducked him, right into the wall. The back of his head hit with a hard, loud thud, and he fell to the floor unconscious.

Silence.

"...my goodness, Athena," Master Chin murmured from the sidelines.

She turned to him slowly in response, her face a mixture of pain and annoyance. " _There,_ " she snapped, crossing her arms. " _Now_ do we get to keep playing our 'little game'?"

"Of course," he replied awkwardly, not sure what reaction she wanted.

She'd already stopped looking at him, though. Instead she was walking over to Kensou, who still hadn't woken. Wincing and sucking in air through her teeth, she knelt down next to him and started patting his cheeks. After a moment, he groaned and looked up at her.

"You okay, Sie?" she asked softly.

"Probably," he answered, holding the back of his head. "...think we could _both_ use a little fixing now, though."

"Sure thing," she chuckled, smiling at him.

\----

After she mended their wounds, Athena told Chin they were taking an early lunch break to rest. From there she and Sie went alone to a nice cafe around the corner (as friends, not on a date). Things were tense between them too at first, as Kensou didn't understand why Athena had tried so hard and Athena felt certain Kensou had held back. But when he offered to let her look into his mind, she relented, deciding to trust him; once she felt _good_ about her win, she assured him she'd just been eager to prove their master wrong, not desperate to avoid him.

Of course, the end result still left Kensou with the same problem: he had to find a date.

He wasn't exactly on OKCupid, after all. And he wasn't the type to hit up the bars and the clubs (Chin didn't _want_ him to be, either). Athena suggested he might meet interesting people at city parks, but Sie pointed out they usually travelled in pairs or groups there. Sie thought about checking out a concert, but Athena knew there weren't any big ones tonight--and tomorrow they had _her_ concert to deal with.

They still hadn't figured it out the day after that, when they had to leave for Southtown. Of course they planned to spend time with a _lot_ of people there--but most of them were already tied up in couples, which didn't help Kensou's cause. Not an hour after they arrived, though, Chin discovered Kim Kaphwan was in town, and they decided to visit him now while they had the chance. (They had already left when Athena realized Jhun might be with him; she immediately called her bodyguard service, but they'd have no one to spare for hours.)

Soon enough, the three had reached the local taekwondo dojo hosting Kim. Once the staff recognized them, they led them to the back rooms; minutes later Kim joined them, his arms open and his grin as manic as ever.

"Well met, Soldiers!" he greeted, bowing. "Master Chin, it is an honor!"

"The honor is mine, Master Kim," Chin replied, giving him his own (less frightening) grin in return.

"And Ms. Asamiya! Mr. Kensou!" Kim went on, nodding at them. "Wonderful seeing you again!" Before they could respond, though, he grinned even wider and asked, "How is your _competition_ going, hmm?"

Kensou blanched; Athena blushed. "It's, ah...it's going okay, I guess," she replied bashfully.

A normal person would've smirked next--but Kim wasn't quite normal. "Not interfering with your training, is it...?" he asked sternly, the deep frown on his face chilling both their hearts.

"Sore subject, Kim," Chin said quickly. "Moving on, moving on..."

"How did _you_ find out about it, anyway?" Kensou asked.

"Well, I happen to be traveling with Jhun right now..."

"Oh, r-really?" said Athena, with a nervous smile. "Is he here today...?"

"Indeed I am," he said from two feet behind her.

All three Soldiers whipped around sharply, Athena squeaking and Kensou yelping. And indeed, there was Jhun Hoon, standing tall, smiling wide and somehow holding a rose. They'd have thought he was a ghost if they hadn't seen May Lee behind him, walking through an open doorway.

"My apologies, Asamiya- _sama_ ," Jhun offered, along with the rose (Athena took it and held it as if it was a bomb). "But I could smell the scent of your hair from the door, and it was _intoxicating_. Lavender and chamomile, correct...?"

As the color drained from Athena's face, Sie stepped in front of her. "Maybe you should stay close to me and Chin for a while," he advised her.

"Ah, yes...the boyfriend," Jhun murmured. "Congratulations to both of you." He leaned down slowly, leveling his face to Kensou's with fire in his eyes. " _...you're taking good care of her, aren't you...?_ "

"Stop scaring our guests, Hoon," an approaching May Lee barked, smacking him. Then she grinned at the other two. "Don't worry about him, Athena-- _I'll_ protect you. It's great to see you again!" She hugged her, then smiled shyly at Sie and added, "And, uh, you too, Kensou."

"Likewise," he said, shaking her hand as Athena's eyebrows raised.

"Ah, will this be your team for the next King of Fighters tournament?" Chin asked Kim. "Fine choices both, if I recall."

"Erhm...no. There are some, ah, _legal_ concerns," said Kim, glaring at Jhun.

"You'd think they could work around that restraining order..." Jhun muttered. (Athena's eyes widened; it wasn't even _hers_.)

"So who _are_ you planning on, then?"

"Well..."

Kim started discussing his candidates with his fellow instructor. Within a minute, Jhun had found a reason to argue with him, and soon they were doing just that. As Chin watched with amusement, Athena pulled Kensou aside. "Psst. Sie. Look over there," she said quietly, cocking her head.

He looked over there; all he saw was May Lee, filing papers. "At what?"

"She _likes_ you, you dummy," Athena told him with a smirk. "Haven't you seen her looking at you?"

"Eh? ...no, not rea--" Then he stopped, as May started looking at him again--then looked back quickly, embarrassed that they'd seen her. "...huh," Kensou finished, rubbing his chin and considering.

"This's perfect, Sie. Go talk to her!"

He looked at her in disbelief. "What, _now?_ Are you nuts!? If Jhun saw me talking to someone else, he'd kill us both!"

"Hmm. True..." She stared at Jhun for a moment, then seemed to steel herself and smiled. "It's okay, Kensou. I'll be your wingman."

"Ugh, _please_ don't put it like that," he muttered, facepalming. "Are you sure you'll be okay with him?"

Her smile grew a little darker. "Hey, no one said I couldn't use my powers on _him_ ," she pointed out.

Kensou couldn't argue with that, so he just watched as Athena walked straight towards her stalker, actually swaying a little. Jhun soon noticed her and abandoned Kim and Chin, who were ignoring him now anyway. "Something I can do for you, _my goddess?_ " he asked.

"Well," said Athena, trying not to cringe, "there _was_ something I'd been wondering." Smiling, she crossed over behind him, making him turn so that he had his back toward Sie. "Since you're my number one fan and all, tell me...what's your favorite song of mine?"

Jhun grinned. "Ahh, but there are so many to choose from...!"

As Jhun took Athena down the rabbit hole, Kensou gave her a grateful look, then walked over to May Lee. "Uhm, hey May," he greeted nervously. "Long time no see, huh?"

"Yeah," May laughed just as nervously. "I don't get out of Korea much these days..."

"Yeah, what's up with that, anyway?" he asked. "Howcome Kim doesn't take you to King of Fighters anymore?"

"Oh, he saves that for old friends now...and his _reform_ program," she answered, rolling her eyes. "First it was Chang and Choi, then that wrestler and Boxer Shorts Guy. You just watch, he'll have some new ones before the next KOF."

"So what have you been up to lately?"

"Well, there's _plenty_ of taekwondo tourneys in Korea, of course. I've been in some of those, and I've done okay. And I've got a part-time job, now, and I'm taking singing lessons--" She clapped her hands over her mouth, her eyes wide.

Kensou grinned. "Singing lessons? Really?"

Mortified, May Lee scowled at him. " _Yes_ , singing lessons," she snapped, her cheeks cherry red. "There something _wrong_ with that??"

"No, no!" he assured her, waving his hands. "I was just thinking of...well, y'know..."

"Oh, right. Her," she mumbled, smiling shyly again. "Yeah, she sings a little too, huh."

"Little bit, yeah."

May Lee nodded; then she looked off to the side. "...I heard about your competition too, you know."

"Oh yeah?" said Kensou, and now it was his turn to look embarrassed.

"Yeah. Jhun couldn't stop talking about it." May paused. "...so...who won the last match?"

"She did," he admitted.

Her face lit up, but just for an instant.

"Is that so?" she asked calmly. "So, you have to date somebody now?"

"Yep."

"You found anybody yet?"

"Nope."

"Oh. ...huh. Well, isn't that interesting." And then she turned her back on him, going back to her papers.

_Oh, you SUCK._

"Uh, May Lee?"

"Yes...?" she asked, grinning.

"Would you like to go out with me...?"

" _Yes!_ " she answered, startling him as she turned, clasped her hands and beamed. Then she came out of it just as quickly. "Uh...I mean, sure."

"Great," he replied, trying not to laugh.

They exchanged numbers, Sie trying subtly to speed up the process; he knew he'd left Athena alone for _far_ too long. They said their goodbyes awkwardly, then turned back to the others...and he found out he was right.

"And _this_ one's from your forty- _third_ concert," Jhun said gleefully, showing Athena a plush doll of herself that looked exactly like the last two. His suave, intense demeanor was gone, replaced by a 13-year-old schoolboy's (or possibly -girl's). "Notice how the stitching on the right boot is frayed at the end? It came like that!"

"I see," Athena replied, looking _very_ nervous.

He put the doll back in an oversized bag, reaching for another. (Apparently it was part of his regular luggage, which did nothing to calm her down.) The one he came up with this time, though, was different: it was a patchwork of fluff and material, sewn poorly together into the shape of a human. It wore a blue skirt, cloth boots and a crude sailor _fuku_ , and it had hair strikingly similar to Athena's along with its button eyes and stitched mouth.

"Where'd you get that one?" she asked cautiously.

"I made it myself!" he told her, like a proud father. "The _fuku_ 's cut from one you wore at a concert, the boots are patterned after the brand you sponsored..."

"And the hair?"

"Oh, it's yours."

" _...what!?_ "

"Isn't it beautiful?"

" _O_ kay, that's enough outta you," said May Lee, pushing Jhun backwards as Sie rushed to Athena's shaking form. "Hoon and I are going bye-bye now, guys. See you later!"

"See you," Kensou called out to her; Athena didn't respond. Once they were gone he turned back to her, looking sheepish. " _Sorry_ , Athena, I shoulda--" He blinked. "...uh...are you okay?"

"He has my _hair_ , Sie," she said, not looking at him. "He has my blouse...he has some of my _prayer beads_..." Her eyes widened, and she turned to him, frantic. "Voodoo isn't real, is it??"

"...maybe we should get going too," Kensou muttered, turning towards Chin (who, like Kim, hadn't seen any of it).

\----

He called May later that night to schedule their get-together. It came off as pretty desperate, of course, until he reminded her he wasn't staying in town for long. Luckily, they both had the next afternoon free; they decided to take in a movie, then maybe grab a late lunch.

Kensou arrived at the theater looking on-point for once, wearing a pale blue button-down and some khaki chino shorts. When May Lee arrived, he couldn't help but widen his eyes. The taekwondo girl had gone _flashy_ today, wearing a dark blue shirt (with skirt to match) and a shiny orange vest (which the skirt's _trim_ matched). He wouldn't have expected it from her at _all_ ; he kind of wondered, in fact, if she was trying to look good to him by copying Athena.

 _Well, if that's her strategy...it's working,_ he had to admit.

They exchanged pleasantries, told each other they looked nice. Then they checked out the slate of movies, trying to figure out what to see. "So what kind of shows do you like?" Sie asked. "Comedy? Drama?" _Chick flicks?_ he thought but did not say.

"Action."

Kensou blinked. "...really?"

"Yeah! I love watching stunts, fights, chase scenes...good winning over evil," she told him, actually striking a little pose (raising one forearm straight up while gripping it with her other hand). "So much cooler than love stories and junk."

"Awesome!" Sie laughed. "Well, hey, the new Blood Warriors is out. Wanna catch it?"

"Sure!" she eagerly agreed.

They got their tickets, stopped for concessions (light-buttered popcorn for him, a pack of Junior Mints for her) and settled down in the theater. The movie wouldn't start for a while, so they had some time to talk, chatting about Blood Warriors and other shows while steadily eating through their snacks. Soon enough the conversation shifted to the million-dollar question: what made May Lee notice Sie Kensou.

"It was because of Jhun, really," she said thoughtfully, sipping on her soda. "He's always so crazy about Athena, you know, and when he wasn't _too_ crazy he made her sound interesting. So I checked her out, to see what all the fuss was about. And I mean, she's _okay_ and all...but _you're_ the interesting one."

" _Me?_ " Sie asked in shock, not sure he'd ever heard that before.

"Well yeah. You're athletic, energetic, quirky...cute," she went on, blushing a bit. "Plus you liked Athena, but you didn't _bug_ her about it all the time, which seemed nice."

"Huh," murmured Kensou, who had _definitely_ never heard his need for an audience was a _good_ thing before.

"I always figured you'd win her over--but not like _this_ ," May Lee finished with a grin. "I'm glad things worked out this way, though, because it gives _me_ a shot at you. Even if it doesn't go anywhere, it'll still be fun, right?"

"Right," said Sie, smiling--and he meant it, too.

As the previews came up and they settled down, Sie found himself pleasantly surprised. _She likes me, for ME...and she barely even knows me,_ he thought. Living in Athena's shadow had hardly broken his confidence, but he'd gotten used to playing second fiddle. Now someone saw him as _first_ , and a cute girl at that; she seemed just as nice as Athena, too, and they'd already made a connection. (Athena would've turned down this movie before he'd finished saying the word "Blood".)

 _She might just regret pointing her out to me,_ he mused with a smirk, knowing he was thinking _way_ ahead but having fun doing it. At any rate, he thought as the lights went down, May seemed right about one thing: this date might be fun after all.

Unfortunately, what it turned out to be was short.

"Man, that was _great_!" Sie burst out, as they left the theater. "Did you see that motorcycle leap!? And how'd you like the guy's head exploding, huh?? Or are you not into the gory stuff?" He finally looked at May Lee...only to find her grimacing, and trembling in anger. "...uh...are you okay?"

"That. Wasn't. _Justice._ "

"...huh?"

"The bad guys _won_!" May Lee cried in disbelief. "They took over the underworld, they fought off the good guys--they even killed the hero! What kind of an ending is that!?"

"Come on, May," Sie chuckled, "you _know_ there's gonna be a sequel. They're just setting up for it, that's--"

"You _approve_ of this?"

Kensou blanched. "Uhh... No?"

"Evil should _never_ triumph over good, Kensou." May Lee was standing straight up now, pointing at him, and out of nowhere a red scarf had started to billow behind her. "Movies where it does are either terrible mistakes or cautionary tales. _Neither_ should be glorified."

"It's just a _movie_! A story! Fiction!!" he exclaimed.

"That may be, Kensou. But you can tell a lot about a man from what he likes." She narrowed her eyes. " _And what YOU like is Evil._ "

She literally chased him out of the building, threatening Justice. When he burst through the exit, he found three cabs near the front, two with people getting in them--and one with an open door. Considering himself the luckiest man on the face of the earth, he vaulted inside, slammed the door, and told the cabbie to _drive_.

"You've made a grave enemy here, Sie Kensou!" May Lee roared after him. "You will rue this day...!!"

\----

Back at the hotel, Athena was busy with tour paperwork, feeling sleepy and vaguely wondering how Kensou was doing. She had almost finished the pile when someone rattled the doorknob, making her jump. When whoever it was couldn't get in, they started pounding on the door, quickly and furiously.

"What the heck...?" She jumped up, looked through the peephole--and found her partner. Startled all over again, she threw the door open. "What's the _matter_ , Sie!?"

"We're leaving. Start packing," he told her. "We have to switch hotels, _now_."

He then ran to his own door, tore it open and went inside. Of course Athena followed, having _no_ idea what he was talking about. "What? Why!? Kensou, what's happening??"

"Crazy. They're all crazy," he muttered, throwing things into his luggage. "May, Jhun, Kim--all of 'em."

"Even May?"

" _Especially_ May. She didn't like the movie, _and now she wants to kill me._ " He closed one suitcase, tossed it out the door, and picked up another. "She has my phone number, she could track my GPS. We've got to get out of here, then I've gotta change numbers."

"Sie, don't you think you're overreacting a bit??"

" _He has your hair._ "

"...oh god, you're right. Let's go."

And so they ran, two world-famous street fighters with amazing psychic powers absolutely terrified of two obscure taekwondo users and their minds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, _so_ sorry to fans of Team Korea. These characters can absolutely be taken seriously, and it could make for great stories that'd be lots of fun to read. ...but they can _absolutely_ be taken this way, too, and it was _so_ much more fun to write. ;) Athena's straight-palm-doublepalm combo comes from the Maximum Impact games; the input's a simple O-O-O, and it really does throw people across the arena. It might be the most satisfying move she has in the whole damn series. Finally, I realize the chapters just keep getting longer, so just let me know if it's beginning to grate.
> 
> The next chapter is a turning point, and things are about to get serious. There'll still be some laughs, of course--but if this chapter's battle was too intense (or boring) for you, be warned that there's plenty more where that came from.
> 
> See you next update!
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>   
> _\--Kensou's Score: 0_


	6. The Third Date...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special props to GooeyHeat for making an update! Even though s/he won't reply to my reviews. ;) (Don't worry about it, Gooey; I realize they come off almost as stalkery as Jhun.)
> 
> Hey, I managed to finish this on time after all! Still no side story this week, though, like I predicted at my other series. In fact, side stories won't be posted on a schedule from now on. I'm still far from running out of ideas, but I've been neglecting other hobbies for awhile, and more time spent with them is long overdue. The whole _too many books, not enough time_ thing, except for me it's writing them instead of reading them. :P
> 
> As I said last time, this chapter is where things get serious. It's a bit shorter than the last one, but still pretty long. I'm not sure what else I can say about it without spoiling things...so let's dive right in, shall we?
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Sie and Athena's quick flight caused a couple of problems. For one thing, they neglected to tell Master Chin; he didn't catch up with them until after Athena's concert. For another, there was the concert. The process of finding a new hotel, checking in and getting settled took longer than they thought, and by the time they got to the arena the show had already started. Athena finally made it onstage nearly half an hour late, and the audience had grown a bit restless. (She made up for it with an extended performance, but it still counted against her for some.)

The next day, while Athena's tour-mate moved on to Raleigh, the Soldiers spent another day in Southtown to keep visiting friends. They started with lunch with the Bogards, along with an also-visiting Tung Fu Rue. Once at odds with each other, Athena and Terry now spent the time laughing and gabbing about showmanship, as Chin and Tung reminisced and Andy tried to lecture Kensou about discipline (to no effect). The meal passed with no mention of Athena and Sie's contest, leaving them both a bit relieved.

Unfortunately, the meal _didn't_ pass so well with Chin, who became sidelined with a stomach bug. His pupils worried it was food poisoning, but he insisted he'd be fine and they should go on to their dinner date without him. While Athena felt concerned, but grateful, Kensou felt a little sick himself: the "date" was with Mai Shiranui and _Yuri_ (at the Illusion, of course). Already he'd been dreading Yuri's wrath...and now he'd have to face it as the only guy at the table.

The two arrived at the bar soon after twilight, thankfully before a line had formed. They were carded at the door, however, and told they could only go to the smaller restaurant area, not the bar itself ("We're _still_ not old enough to drink here??" Kensou groused). Luckily Mai and Yuri had seen this coming, and they were waiting for them at a booth instead of the barstools.

Yuri and Athena bounded up to hug each other, while Mai gave Kensou a big hug of her own (mostly to see him squirm). Then Mai hugged Athena in turn...and then the two looked at Yuri and Kensou, who were staring each other down.

"Hello, Sie," said Yuri quietly, her lips pursed in a smirk.

"H-hey, Yuri," said Sie nervously, sweat pouring down his brow.

They stayed staring like that for a few seconds more...

...and then Yuri grinned and gave him the biggest hug of any of them.

" _Thank you,_ " she said fervently, as Mai giggled and Athena and Kensou looked at each other in shock.

As it turned out, things had gone quite well for Yuri after their date. Robert felt extremely guilty (and jealous) when Yuri left, and because Kensou had softened her up a bit she'd felt bad too. Now it was like old times between them, all sweetness and cuddling. They'd agreed that she would stay out of the tournament as a favor to him--and that he would owe _her_ a favor in return. Specifically, it was whatever Yuri wanted, _whenever_ Yuri wanted...and she had yet to claim it.

Best of all, Ryo had gotten bounced from the tourney in the first round.

"You should've seen it," she said, laughing, as the Soldiers looked on in amusement (and Mai, bored of this story, rolled her eyes). "Remember how you said it didn't matter if this thing had a _tank_? Well that's basically what that armor of Ralf's _is_. Good ol' bro got knocked out _and_ knocked out of the ring at the same time. Ralf didn't have a scratch on him."

"Oh, my," said Athena, trying not to giggle as Kensou laughed outright.

"So who's it down to now, anyway?" Mai asked curiously.

"Eh, I dunno," Yuri shrugged. "I think it's Ralf, some guy with a bunch of 9s in his name, some jerk that says he's a god but he's _totally_ not, and Leona."

"Leona? That's great!" Athena beamed.

"Well, not so great for _her_ ," Yuri grimaced. "She fought Iori, he Rioted, _she_ Rioted, and now _she's_ the one who does it every match."

"But she beat him? _Iori_ in a _Riot_??" Kensou asked her.

"Yep," she said, smirking.

" _Cool,_ " he said in awe.

"It is _not_ cool, Sie!" Athena snapped. "It's awful, for both of them...!" But the look on her face told them she thought it was kinda cool, too.

The waitress came to take their orders, then. They gave them to her, Kensou and Athena getting the house salad (Kensou with turkey, Athena without) while Mai and Yuri got buffalo wings with ranch sauce. Sie wondered how they kept their figures eating like that; Athena wondered how they could eat like that, period.

A little while later, King took a break and came over to join the table. After she greeted the others and sat down, Mai looked at her brightly. "Glad you're here, Kingy," she told her. "I've been _waiting_ for this."

"For what?" Athena asked.

Mai grinned as she said, "Tell us, Athena: how's your little _competition_ going, hmm...?"

Athena groaned, Sie rolled his eyes, and King scowled. "Really, Mai? You had to wait for _me_ to ask that?"

"Yes, I believe I did," said Mai mysteriously. "Now come on, you two. Spill."

"Spill _what_?" Athena asked. "We've fought, I've won, he's won, we've gone out. What's to tell?"

"Well, how many times have you won?"

"Twice," she said, frowning.

"And how many times has _he_ won...?"

"Twice..." she said, an eyebrow raised.

"And _there_ you go," Mai said, grinning again.

As the Soldiers and King looked at each other, Yuri's eyes went wide. "Oh my god, Mai, you were _right_!!" she yelled, and then she actually squealed.

"Can someone let me in on this, please?" King asked, annoyed.

Now it was Mai's turn to smirk. "Well, King," she said, "the next time Athena loses, it'll be their _third date_."

King's eyebrows went up. "Is that so?" she replied, rubbing her chin with a smirk of her own. "That _is_ kind of interesting."

" _Why?_ What are you three _talking_ about??" Kensou demanded.

King couldn't help chuckling. "Never heard of the 'third date rule', huh...?"

"They don't live here, King," Mai explained. Then she turned to the Soldiers, and finally explained it to _them_. "You see, here in America...the third date usually ends in the bedroom."

Silence.

" _...what!?_ "

"You _hook up_ , Athena," Yuri said wickedly. "Get together. Fool around. Make l _ooo--_ "

"I _know_ what it means!!" she cried, her cheeks cherry red.

For his part, Kensou looked totally numb. He wasn't moving; he wasn't blinking; he might not've been breathing. Mai stared at him and giggled, her mission accomplished. "Aw, _look_ at him, Athena! Isn't he adorable?"

Athena turned to Sie, groaned, and rolled her eyes. " _Snap_ out of it, Sie," she snapped, smacking him (to no effect).

"Sooo? You think you'll do it?" Yuri pressed.

Her friend-slash-acquaintance scowled at her, betrayed. "We are _not_ Americans!" she insisted. "That's not how it works, in _either_ of our countries!"

"Maybe not," said Mai mischievously. "But you know what they say: _when in Rome..._ "

Athena paled.

"That...that doesn't mean anything...!" she "insisted," with far less confidence.

"How much longer _are_ you in America, Athena?" King asked.

"...six days..."

"And how many days to your next match...?"

"...three..."

"Illberightback," Kensou said as he bolted, leaving a dust cloud (and three laughing women) behind him.

Athena stared at him for a second, then turned back to the others in a rage. "What. The. Hell. Are. You. _Doing,_ " she growled.

"Relax, Athena!" Yuri scolded her, waving it away. "We're just spicing things up a little."

"This isn't _your love life_ to spice up!" she shot back. Then she dropped her voice and added, "I don't even know if I'm _ready_ for that...!"

"Well, there's a first time for everything, hmm?" Mai mused.

"It is _not_ my first time!" Athena yelled out, her cheeks even redder. Then she realized what she had just _yelled out_ and groaned. "Oh my god..." she muttered, her cheeks now basically purple as she put her head in her hands.

"I wouldn't worry about it, Athena," King consoled her. "If you don't want to, don't. I'm sure he thinks it's a silly rule too."

"Is it, King?" she said, looking up grimly. "Is it a silly rule? Or is it an _excuse_? A sign that we should take things to the next level? A reason for him to rush into it before we leave? Something that, if I don't do it, will _hurt him_ and make him wonder if I ever will?"

"...it's a silly rule," King repeated, deadpan.

"C'mon, girl, this is _Sie_. And you said it yourself: it's not your culture," Yuri pointed out. "Don't you think he'd just accept that? You know him better than that, right?"

"Raise your hand," Athena replied, "if Sie Kensou has been living at the same dojo as you since high school."

Her hand went up. The other women looked at her, then at each other.

"Yeah," she said simply, putting it down so she could cross her arms again.

Kensou chose that moment to return to the table, all smiles. "King! Mai! Yuri! How you doing?" he asked. Then he looked down and added, "Oh, Athena! I didn't know you were already here!"

Blessedly, the waitress chose _that_ moment to arrive with their orders. With a quick greeting, she handed Athena her salad and started to set down Sie's--until Athena snatched it out of her hand.

" _Perfect._ Thank you, miss," she told her. Then she stood, picking up her own bowl with her other hand. "But I think we'll be taking that to go."

"Athena..."

"We're leaving, Kensou," she went on, turning and handing him his meal. "Dinner's on them tonight. Let's go."

"Uhm...okay," Sie said dumbly.

"Athena, we're _sorry_...!" Yuri called, as they walked to the front counter for some boxes. They did not reply.

After they left, Yuri looked down, feeling guilty; meanwhile, King looked at Mai, feeling pissed. "Are you happy??" she hissed at her.

"...still a little bit, yeah," Mai admitted, thinking of Kensou's reaction and smirking.

\----

They rode back to their hotel silently, lost in thought. (And, in Athena's case, her salad; she had been _starving_.) Kensou's "thoughts" weren't really thoughts, of course, so much as barely-coherent words. But Athena had enough thoughts for both of them, racing a mile a minute.

What had Mai (and the others!) been thinking?? If they'd wanted to tease _her_ about this, fine--but Sie was a boy! And this was about _sex_! Sex talk wasn't about teasing and blushing and giggling for boys. (...well, it wasn't for girls either, but it was _never_ about that for boys.) And Kensou--she wanted to blush just _thinking_ this--had wanted to have sex with her for years. He'd surely jump at any chance, take _any_ excuse to talk about it that might not hurt her feelings.

...and this _was_ an excuse, no matter what King said. Of _course_ this "third date rule" was just a silly American thing--but they'd never even _heard_ of it before now. Kensou was no astrologer, but he was still a psychic, and he did believe in signs. Just the fact that they'd learned about it now, just in time to have their third date _in America_ , would be enough to give him pause. ("When in Rome," after all. ...she was going to kill her.) More than that, Athena _was_ an astrologer, and she _really_ believed in signs. The only reason she wasn't taking this as one was that it scared the living hell out of her.

(Not to mention that the Zodiac seemed to be wrong about this one. Pisces and Libras were supposed to be really incompatible.

...except in the bedroom.)

"Athena? We're here."

She shuddered, stunned out of her reverie. She looked at the speaker, Kensou, who finally seemed normal(ish). Then she looked past him and saw the entrance to their hotel, and realized what he meant. "Oh...right," she replied, blushing a bit.

She tossed out her salad box (when had she finished it?) on the way into the lobby. They crossed silently to the elevator, called for it, waited, and entered. The door closed and gave them a small, private space; at that Kensou spoke again, having been terrified to say a word in public.

"Some night, huh?"

"Yep," Athena answered.

"...they really got to you, huh."

" _Yep_ ," Athena grunted.

"You know they meant well, though, right? They're still our friends."

"...yep," Athena sighed.

The Soldiers' rooms were all on the same floor that night. First Athena and Sie stopped to check on Chin, though their thoughts were miles away from him. When Kensou's knock was answered by a _sake_ bottle hitting the door and a string of Chinese curses, they figured he was feeling better.

Then they made it back to their own rooms, across from each other. Her heart beating like a drum, Athena said goodnight to Kensou and got out her keycard; it only beat faster when he just said goodnight in response. She slid the card through the lock...opened the door...put one foot through it...

"...Athena?"

_Damn._

"Yes, Sie?" she said brightly and turned, as if she had no idea what this was about.

"Well...uhm...I just wanted, uh..." Clearly he was as nervous as she was about this question. "...you don't believe in that whole 'third date' thing, do you? I mean, we're not from here. That's not for us. ...I mean we're here _now_ and everything, but... Well, you wouldn't really think about _following_ that, about taking things that far already...

"...would you?"

Athena _had_ thought about it, of course, had for the entire cab ride. And not just about the question itself. She'd thought about what kind of man Sie was...what kind of man he might become...where they were in their relationship. She had an answer ready for him--but she also had a desperate, last-ditch escape plan.

"Well," she said, smirking and trying to look coy, "do you want the _good_ answer, or the one you're expecting?"

But Kensou smiled back and said, "How about the truth...?"

_DAMN._

"The truth, huh...?" She looked down, looked to the side; the smirk drained from her face. She started to go inside...but didn't finish, never meant to. She would not run from this. Instead, from the other side of the door, she turned and looked at him intently, the tiniest hint of a smile on her face.

"The truth is, don't count on it."

A pause.

"...but don't rule it out."

And then she closed the door, which he stared at for the next five minutes.

\----

Raleigh went by in an absolute haze. The two were officially getting distracted, now. They trained with no focus at all, suffering repeated bruises and mental shocks. At first Chin had been livid...but once he heard what had happened from Kensou, he simply gave up for a few days.

It even affected Athena's performance at the concert, as she couldn't concentrate. Her vocals were a bit off, she missed a number of dance steps, and most importantly, she couldn't remember all her lyrics. About halfway through, Chin had the idea for Sie to send them to her telepathically, not quite saving the show but at least limiting the damage. (The only way Sie could do it was by reading from her sheet music, and even that he did in monotone.)

The next day was a wonderful relief, as it brought them to their last stop on the tour...and Athena and Kensou's next match.

Complications with their flight had brought them to Philadelphia in the late afternoon. They had no time left to scope out a gym--and Chin could tell from the look of his pupils that they might level one anyway. Instead he directed their cabbie to the emptiest park with a clearing in town. The driver obliged, and soon the three stood in an open field of grass on the outskirts of the city, right around sunset.

On one side stood Kensou, his aura already glowing. His eyes shone with a purpose bordering on mania, and he kept them fixed on his opponent at all times. At first Sie had been motivated--not to mention dumbstruck--by Athena's confession...but over time it had become more than that. This was about taking their relationship to the next level, not just physically but emotionally. If he could just win this match...if he could just have his next date with Athena _here_...they could stop playing games and see if they had something real.

On the other stood Athena, if anything looking more determined. Her own aura blared brightly, her hands balled into fists...but her face showed no anger, nothing but pure focus. She had regretted her confession the second it was out of her mouth; if Kensou hadn't expected them to get together already, he certainly would be now. She still had no idea whether she was ready for that--but she knew she was _not_ ready to have to decide. If she could just win this match...if she could just have her next date with Sie somewhere else...they could keep playing their game, at least for a little while longer.

In between them--and well away from them--stood Master Chin, technically serving as referee. He knew damn well, though, that it was a meaningless title. If he got in their way now, he'd be lucky to come out alive.

"I don't suppose you'll accept any conditions today...?" he called.

They looked at him with deep scowls, their auras flaring.

"I suspected as much," he said with a sigh. "Then I'll say only this: try to remember that you're not enemies." He stepped back even further, raised his hand...and let it drop.

Athena set the tone immediately by leaping forward, charging an Athena Explosion in record time and throwing it at Kensou's head. But Sie was already moving, easily dodging the blast; he went right into a vertical Shinryuu Seio Rekkyaku, flying up at her with a staggering whirlwind of kicks. She Teleported about a foot to the left, then exploded into the Shining Crystal Bit...but he twisted in midair, maneuvering himself to fall right through the Bits and land safely beneath her. Almost before he hit the ground, he shot a Shinryuu Chokyuudan up at her; she managed to Teleport _again_ , landing safely on the grass--then had to jump right back up to avoid a _horizontal_ Rekkyaku.

The fight continued this way for several minutes, each using their strongest techniques with no signs of slowing down. Athena pelted Kensou with fireballs of all speeds and sizes, effectively keeping her distance and scoring a few solid hits. But when she let up for even a second, he was right on top of her, throwing brutal combinations she never managed to escape unharmed. Chin looked on with grave concern, wondering when, exactly, this had become the most important battle of their lives. That's certainly what it _looked_ like, anyway; he had never seen them fight so desperately before.

The turning point came from a lucky leap by Kensou. He'd jumped at Athena right as she started a Psycho Ball Revolution, and she couldn't recover in time for his landing. He punished her with another Shinryuu Seioushou, throwing the endless string of punches even faster than last time. After the launcher threw her to the grass, she sprang up like it was nothing--but then quickly had to fend off another series of strikes. When one got through, he followed it _immediately_ with a Senki Hakkei, his most potent energy blast.

The powerful moves, one after the other, had Athena reeling. She kept her presence of mind, however, as Kensou charged in for the kill. She waited until he was right next to her--then exploded into the Shining Crystal Bit again, sending him flying. _Immediately_ she cancelled it into the Crystal Shoot, and the joined Bits hit him while he was still in midair, sending him further.

The attack had hardly finished Kensou off. But it did throw him far away from her, and to the ground besides. He got up quickly and started to run back in--then stopped in shock, as he saw her performing the Healing Athena. He watched with wide eyes as bruises, welts and scorches faded away in seconds, the sudden burst of healing energy erasing at least half her injuries. The rare move took a lot out of her...but she had a lot to give, right now.

"Oh, you _suck_ ," he growled. She didn't even blink.

From there Kensou seemed to be the one on the ropes. Desperate now, Athena practically hovered in midair, throwing out Explosions one after another. Unable to approach, he had to play a game of cat and mouse, either running like hell or cancelling the blasts with Senki Hakkeis (which took a lot out of _him_ ). Finally he decided to just stand there and block one; the detonation hid him from sight for a moment, and when Athena saw him next he was kneeling, looking on the brink of collapse.

 _This is it,_ she thought, seeing her chance. Without hesitation, she unleashed the Phoenix Infinity, possibly the strongest technique in her arsenal. She flew high into the air, surrounded by intense psychic energy that looked just like its namesake; then she flew screaming down at him, triumph in her heart.

But Kensou had been playing possum.

 _This is it,_ he thought, seeing his chance. He had been waiting for this, Athena's fastest assault--and he knew just what to do with it. When she was almost upon him, he unleashed the Zesshou Chirinshouha, possibly the strongest technique in _his_ arsenal. He intended to use the move's massive opening kick to punch through the phoenix and hit her directly. He probably wouldn't be able to do the combination that followed...but at the speed she was going, it'd knock her out all on its own.

But the devastating kick did a lot more than that.

When it met the violatile energies, it didn't just punch through them--it disrupted them. As a result, the phoenix exploded, flash-blinding Chin as it filled the area with pink light. He couldn't see what happened next; he could only hear sharp cries and, at least two seconds later, dull thuds. Chasing the stars from his eyes, he found his pupils lying far, far away from each other, Athena unconscious...

...and Kensou beginning to stir.

He leaned up from the ground slowly, groaning and swaying. Once he finally sat up, he managed to focus ahead of him--and his mouth dropped open, as he saw that he'd sat up first. Before his concern could kick in, Athena woke up as well; she got to her seat just as slowly--and had just the same reaction.

"I won," he said, numb.

"I lost," she said, number.

"Ai yai yai," said Chin, shaking his head. If these two could find _that_ much motivation again, they'd be ready for anything...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, this was _fun_. :) Last week it was a real match with no powers at all, this week it was a real match with infinite super meter. I probably should've made them more scared of killing each other. :P Sorry if Kensou's win wasn't decisive enough for you, but that was kinda the point; he was just a little bit better (and luckier) this time. Healing Athena comes from MI2, and is so friggin' unfair; Psycho Ball Revolution comes from '98UM, and actually kinda sucks.
> 
> Guess the next entry's pretty important, huh? You might not have heard of the 'third date rule' either, but it's out there. Now you know...and so do our heroes. And now they've going to have one, one way or the other. Even I don't know how it's going to turn out; I mean, I have an _idea_ , but sometimes these things write themselves...
> 
> See you next update!
> 
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> 
>  
> 
>   
> _\--Kensou's Score: 0_  
> 


	7. The Third Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, what a day. Sorry for the late post, guys-and-gals; real life happens sometimes. At this rate I'll never get any side stories done. (I'm writing at maybe my fastest pace ever right now and I'm _still_ not satisfied. Obsession much? :P ) I'll have time for side stories in a couple weeks, at least, because the ends of this and Botan are coming up fast. I do have at least one more series planned, though, so again, we'll see how it goes.
> 
> This chapter turned out even more intense than I'd planned. I'm kinda proud of it, actually; I _really_ hope you enjoy this one. Couple of warnings first, though. First off, this's the longest chapter by far, and I've cut as much as I can possibly stand. (If I were a director, Return of the King would be nine hours long.) Second, I may be pushing the limits of PG-13 here, so apologies in advance if something tweaks you. (Not a spoiler, btw. Could be a risque ending, could be a painfully dark middle...who knows?)
> 
> Happy reading!

Her first instinct, after the match, was to run. Run like hell and not look back. She managed to ignore it, healing herself and her partner without a word. From there they made it to their hotel, somehow; neither could remember it, partly from the shock and partly because using all that power had caught up to them. After they and their instructor checked in and reached their rooms, the two psychics immediately fell into a deep sleep.

Athena awoke a few hours later, much more clear-headed--and in a panic. Desperately, she started trying to think of ways to get out of this. About ten minutes later, she had it: she called her agency in Japan, practically begging them for new appointments. If she didn't have _time_ for a date, she couldn't go on one yet, could she? And Kensou knew how important her career was to her; Kensou would understand.

Within an hour, the idol had scheduled twelve new appearances, getting herself booked solid until her flight home.

The next morning she cancelled all of them. (And wasn't _that_ a fun phone call.)

She'd been running from it again, she'd realized. She'd faced it head-on before, messed up, and started letting fear rule her. That was _not_ who she was...not anymore, anyway. And she didn't even feel all that fear over having sex; she felt it over having to _decide_. And what was the point of doing that now? A million things could happen between then and now to change her mind, especially on the date itself. She didn't need to worry about that just yet...and when she did, she vowed to herself that she would face it head-on.

But if they were doing this, she thought with a smile, they were going to do it _her_ way.

A half hour later, she knocked loudly on Kensou's hotel room door, ready to go. It took him a moment to answer; when he did, he opened the door mid-yawn. "Wha...huh, Athena?" he said smartly, rubbing his eyes. "Whassa matter...?"

"Get dressed, Kensou. We're going on our date today," she told him eagerly.

His eyes and mouth widened in shock. He started to put on an elated grin...but managed to stop himself, shaking his head. "Uhh...that's great, Athena," he replied, "but it's kind of eight A.M. right now. Isn't that a long date...?"

"Not _now_ , Sie," she chuckled. "The date's tonight. But this time, _I'm_ taking _you_ out...and we've got some shopping to do."

He could only stare at her strangely, wondering what he'd gotten himself into now...

\----

Some time later, Sie stood in front of his hotel room mirror, knotting his tie nervously. Athena had dragged him to a high-class boutique, making sure they met the dress code at tonight's destination in style. The staff had selected his outfit: a sleek navy blue sportscoat and pants, a white button-down with a silk red tie, and black leather shoes he could almost see his reflection in. He'd done his hair as they'd instructed--not as slicked-back as on his first date, but enough to hide the shagginess. He did look pretty good like this, he thought...but he didn't _feel_ good at all.

Athena was doing all this, he knew, to distract herself--to relieve the pressure she felt on what could be a turning point in their relationship. But for him, she had increased the pressure tenfold. He hadn't belonged in that boutique; he wouldn't belong in this restaurant. Hell, he didn't belong in these _clothes_. How many times was he going to embarrass her tonight? Would she even want to be with him by the end of it, let alone be _with_ him?

He shook his head, looked down and sighed as he pulled the tie closed. _No reason for HER to feel all the stress,_ he supposed; before this morning, she'd clearly been feeling more than enough for both of them.

Shortly afterwards Sie headed downstairs and boarded his third cab of the day. He was alone this time; Athena wanted them to arrive separately, so their outfits could _both_ be surprises. The driver took him deep into the heart of the city, the streets bustling even before nightfall. Finally, he reached his destination: R2L, a "revolving restaurant" (whatever that meant) at the top of a skyscraper downtown.

He reached the tower with plenty of daylight left, but not enough that he thought they'd make it out before sunset. He went through the revolving door awkwardly, a bundle of nerves; the doorman told him where to go, pointing to a narrow hallway that led to an out-of-the-way elevator. Thirty floors and what felt like five hours later, the door opened to reveal the restaurant proper...

...and there she was.

She wore a stunning, sparkling red dress, somehow both clinging to and masking her curves. The thing fell almost to her feet, but was slit up to her thigh, showing a startling flash of skin he could barely look away from. Her gleaming ivory heels made her two inches taller, nearly his height but not quite. She'd managed to find, or have tailored, a pair of long, white gloves _without fingers_ , a personal touch he'd seen on every glove she'd ever worn. She had a more formal wig on this time, an ebony chignon bun that almost made her look _too_ elegant. But the most breathtaking part, as always, was her face, a combination of pale rouge, light blue eye shadow, ruby red lipstick, twinkling purple eyes and the smile he'd lived for since he met her.

Kensou stared at her dumbfounded, having imagined her like this but not prepared to see it happen. To his surprise, Athena had a similar reaction, her eyes widening a bit and her smile fading away. They looked at each other for several seconds, not moving, blinking, breathing.

Then the elevator door closed.

"...oh, for the _love_ of..." Sie stabbed the Open button repeatedly, even though he saw the door start to move on the first press. He got out glaring backward in annoyance, then turned to find Athena walking towards him and giggling. "Yeah, that about sums me up, huh," he sighed, his shoulders slumped.

"Only sometimes," she assured him, smiling wide as she got close. "Not right now, though. You look _incredible_ , Kensou. You really _do_ look good in a suit."

"Who'd've thought," he chuckled. Then he put on a solemn smile of his own. "And you look perfect, Athena. Again. ...well... _almost_."

He reached up to her head and pressed his hands against the sides. She blinked, but let him, dimly knowing what he was doing. Gently, he lifted away her wig, revealing a mess of purple hair. Then with one hand he spread it out, turning it into a wild mane that would've mortified her any other time.

"Perfect," he said quietly, as she looked down and blushed hard enough for it to show through her rouge.

After resetting the wig (romance aside, they _both_ liked the extra privacy), they headed past the spacious kitchen and into the dining area. The place seemed a bit quiet tonight, with fewer people than Sie expected and less noise than Athena had read about. The decor was both spacious and cramped, with tables and booths everywhere but somehow far apart. And Kensou quickly found out what "revolving restaurant" meant: the restaurant was literally _revolving_ , slowly turning on its foundation so the view overlooked the whole city.

They picked a rounded booth right by the window, to distract themselves as much as possible (Sie assumed). When the waiter came by and handed them their menus, Kensou took one look at the prices and balked. He looked up and started to say something...but when he saw Athena's face, deadpan and _daring_ him to do it, he wisely buried it instead.

As they perused the menus, Sie reluctantly decided on the roasted tuna, wanting to look at least a _little_ sophisticated. But when the waiter arrived, Athena ordered the lobster mac 'n cheese with a big smile on her face. Grinning, he ordered the house sliders and fries instead, relaxing a bit (which was exactly why she'd done it).

Before the waiter could go, she asked him for a small plate of linguine as an appetizer. As he left, Kensou looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "Noodles with noodles?" he asked.

"I have my reasons," she answered, smirking.

They spent some time admiring the view, then, as it rotated before them. Big American cities had a different flavor from those in China and Japan, less crowded but more gaudy. Seeing this one all at once left quite an impression on the two, and they marveled at buildings of all shapes and sizes climbing high into the air.

"I wonder why Southtown's where everything happens in this country," Kensou mused. "Everywhere else I've seen here seems nicer."

"It's just where everything happens for _fighters_ , Sie," Athena pointed out. "For _normal_ people it's New York, or Los Angeles, or...Salt Lake City, I think."

"Hmm. Interesting." He turned from the view and looked at her. "You wished you were a 'normal' person lately?"

"Not one bit," she said back, smiling. "Sometimes, in the old days. _All_ the time that first year or so. But I think it's led to a great life."

"Yeah, me too."

He paused.

"...that first year, huh?"

Athena sighed; she knew _that_ was a mistake as soon as she said it. "Are you going to bring that up every date, Sie?"

"Just until you tell me."

" _Why_ do you think I'd want to talk about that?" she argued. "I've already broken down once just getting anywhere _near_ it."

"That's _exactly_ why you'd want to," he countered. "You don't get over stuff by burying it. You have to talk about it with someone. You know that; even _I_ know that."

Now Athena cringed. "...but..."

"Ever since our first date," Kensou went on, "I've been hoping _I_ could be that person. That you'd start to trust me enough to confide it in me. I'm still ready to be that person, Athena...whenever you're ready for one."

She crossed her arms, actually scowled a little bit. "So now I have to decide that too, huh?" she snapped, not specifying the other decision.

"No, that's different," he soothed, not needing her to. "All you have to decide this time is whether you think I could help."

Her face softened. She looked down, staying silent for what seemed like an eternity.

"...later," she said finally. "I want to enjoy the meal first." Kensou nodded, and they didn't speak for a moment.

Luckily, the waiter broke the ice soon by bringing their linguine. "Perfect timing," Athena beamed, her face lighting up. "I have _always_ wanted to try this."

"Try what?" said Sie, oblivious.

"Something I saw in an old American kids' movie. Here." Surprising him more with each move, she picked up a long noodle with her fingers, gave him one end, and put the other in her mouth.

"...so we meet in the middle, then?" he guessed with a smirk.

"Mm-hmm," she mumbled, nodding and looking as excited as she had the first time she'd seen it. "C'mon...!"

They started eating towards each other, slowly acting out one of the oldest cliches in modern dating. Unfortunately, Athena had forgotten one key element of that scene: the couple had spent most of it looking _away from_ each other. Instead she and Sie stared straight ahead, and it took them three tries before they got through it without breaking out in laughter.

When they did, however, it was quite nice. Athena's face lit up all over again...and then she closed her eyes, her smile fading as she fell into the closeness of it all. Kensou still thought it was silly, but it was also _kissing Athena_ ; he ended up enjoying it more than she had.

"Again?" he asked, smiling, almost before they broke apart.

"We can't do it _again_ ," she said shyly, blushing through her rouge once more. "It'd spoil it."

"I'll risk it if you will," he told her, grinning now.

Instead they shared the rest of the dish, alternating between chatting and just looking at each other. (At one point, though, they picked up the same noodle with their forks; when they saw that they _had_ to do it again, neither one able to ignore _that_ sign.) Their actual meal came before they'd finished the appetizer, and as Kensou happily chowed down on his burgers, Athena ate a few bites and then pushed her plate away. It seemed noodles with noodles wasn't a great idea after all...but it'd been worth it, she mused.

Kensou finished his meal soon after, and by then it was sunset (as he'd predicted). He hadn't predicted how beautiful it would be from up here, though. He and Athena scooted along their rounded booth, getting a better angle to stare at the view. Soon they sat next to each other; soon his arm was back around her waist. Then, spontaneously, he leaned over to kiss her again, this time not slow enough to give her time to pull back. Surprised but pleased, she didn't pull away, and they were still like that when their waiter silently dropped off the check.

 _Maybe this won't be a tough decision after all,_ she thought, reaching up and touching his cheek.

\----

The two left the tower some time later to a twilight view--and a horse-drawn carriage, Athena's latest surprise. Kensou knew she was overdoing it again, but he buried that too and told her he loved the idea. He helped her inside, then climbed in after her, and the two began their slow journey back to their hotel. It was a pretty long trip for a carriage, really.

Athena leaned her head on his shoulder again, and while he accepted it he didn't relax much. He didn't want her to fall asleep, this time. She knew what he wanted now...not just her story, but her sorrow, her vulnerability--her trust. And for _this_ thing, she decided to give it to him, hoping it would help her decide the other thing too.

"I was fourteen when I discovered my powers," she began.

\----

Many years before, a young Athena awoke to her alarm clock with a smile. She bounded out of bed, eager as ever to get a jump on the day. In her bathroom, she poured a glass of water, leaned back to drink from it, caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror as she put it down--and nearly choked.

" _Mama_!?" she cried, her face white as a sheet.

Her shoulder-length hair had gone from stark black to vibrant purple overnight. She'd have thought it was pretty, really, if she weren't scared out of her wits. At first her parents scolded her, thinking she'd dyed it; when she convinced them she didn't, they got scared too, and her father took off from work so they could both join her at the hospital.

The clerks at the ER didn't believe Athena's story. As a result, she ended up waiting far longer than she should've. An hour in, the fidgeting girl asked to use the restroom; she clutched her hood tight to her head as she slunk off down the hallway.

In the stall, she sat down and did her business fast. Then she stood up--and her hood fell off, almost into the toilet. Gasping, she whirled around, juggled it, lost her grip...

...and then it moved away from the bowl by itself, falling to the floor.

"What...?" Frowning, she picked it up, looking at it and the toilet. Curiously, she dropped it on purpose--and it fell right into the water.

Athena groaned, feeling as dumb as she was horrified. Now not only could she not wear the thing, she'd have to pick it up--out of the _toilet_. Cringing, she inched her hand forward, her fingers pinched...

...and then the hood levitated out of the bowl, hovering in front of her.

And then she screamed.

\----

"No one heard me, thank goodness," Athena went on to Kensou, back in the carriage. "Once I calmed down, I tried to lift it on purpose, and it worked. Then I tried something else--I think a sheet of tissue paper--and that worked too. And that's how I found out about my powers: in a bathroom, getting my clothes out of a toilet.

"I was bright for my age then, and it didn't take me long to add things up. I'd gotten my powers and my new hair at the same time, so they were probably related. If the doctors looked at my hair, they wouldn't find anything normal, so they might bring me in for tests. And if they found my powers...behind closed doors, with no one else knowing...I'd never see the light of day again.

"So I left the bathroom, walked back to my parents, and told them I had lied. I said I'd dyed my hair the night before, and I'd been too embarrassed to say so until now. I planned to tell them the truth as soon as we got back to the car--but the instant the doors shut, they started screaming. They said I'd scared them to death, lost a day of school, ruined mom's schedule, put dad's job in jeopardy. They were so mad I got more scared than ever...too scared to tell them anything.

"They took me straight to a stylist, and I got my hair dyed back to black. After that we barely said a word before bed; I never did tell them what happened.

"Then, the next day, my hair was purple again...and I _had_ to tell them."

\----

Her mother would not stop screaming.

" _Please_ calm down, _Mama_!!" the younger Athena cried, waving her hands. She didn't want her to alert her dad; her dad had screamed louder than this yesterday.

"Y-y-y-you're...you're a...!"

Athena blinked. "I'm...I'm a _what_?"

But she just started up again, turning away. Seconds later, Athena's father arrived.

"Honey, what's wrong!?" he shouted, as she collapsed against him in sobs. "Athena, what is--" He looked at her in shock. "...did you dye your hair again??"

"No, _Papa_ , I--"

"Never mind that, what's going on? Athena? Honey??"

"D-d-d...d-d-d- _ **demon**_."

Athena's heart broke into a million pieces.

"...what...?"

" _She's a demon!_ " her mother accused, pointing at her without looking. "Our daughter has become a _yokai_!!"

"Calm down, dear," her father soothed, patting the woman's back. Then he looked at Athena. "Do you know what she's talking about?"

"I just showed her what I can do now," she whimpered, tears streaming down her face. "I'm not a demon, _Mama_! I promise...!"

"What can you do...?" he asked, his eyebrow raised.

Not at all sure she should, the crying girl turned back towards the spoon on the dining room table. She stretched her hand toward it, lifted it briefly with her mind, and let it drop.

Her father's face paled, and her mother screamed again. He stared at her for a moment; then he looked at her mother, who'd gone back to sobs. Then he looked back to his daughter, his face made of stone.

"Athena," he said solemnly, "can you see yourself to school today?"

"Y...yes," she said, as she dried her eyes.

"Then get going, quick as you can," he told her. "Your mother and I need to talk."

\----

"I went to school, but I wasn't _there_ at all," Athena went on. "I couldn't think of anything but what would happen at home. The next day I learned I'd scored a 0 on a quiz, said nothing when two different teachers called on me, and gotten a detention. None of it bothered me...not as much as what _did_ happen at home.

"Mom was very spiritual, dad said. She believed in things like demons, thought they could hide in plain sight...and it frightened her. _He_ was scientific, he said, and didn't believe in them at all...but that meant he couldn't explain me. And _that_ frightened _him_.

"They could only _deal with it_ , he said, if I stopped using my powers. I could never use them again, should try to forget I even had them. If I could _pretend_ I was normal, _they_ could pretend I was normal, because they _loved me so much_. He said I could keep the purple hair--as if I had a choice--but other than that, we'd never speak of it.

"But we had to speak of it...because I couldn't stop it. My powers grew fast, just like yours--but I didn't exercise them, so they popped up on their own. I threw my first Psycho Ball while I was clapping at a fly, and it broke one of dad's oldest heirlooms. I found out I had telepathy when mom called my name, then screamed when I answered because she hadn't said it out loud. Then one day, I got mad at them, and a plant flew inches from dad's head...and when I saw the fear in their eyes, I knew I had lost them.

"The very next day, I found out exactly what that meant."

\----

The younger Athena came home from school that day to deathly silence. Her dad wasn't home; her mom wasn't home. Even the dog was gone. She searched through the house quickly, her confusion soon becoming fear. But before she found _them_ , she found a handwritten letter, sitting on the kitchen table next to one of the chairs.

Her hands trembling, she picked up the letter and started to read.

\----

_To our dearest daughter:_

_We still love you with all our hearts. But we can't go on like this. We could accept your condition when you could hide it, but now you can't even control it. We're afraid of what might happen to both you and us. So we have to say goodbye._

_The credit card on the table is zeroed out and has a 400,000-yen limit. Use it for whatever you need for as long as you want. We've attached you to the property and utility contracts and signed you up for a year of railway service. All of the bills will come to us._

_We will always love you._

\----

There was no contact information.

She looked at the letter for quite a while, unmoving. Then she looked up from it to the table, and found the card there as promised. She picked up the card and looked at both of them, her eyes drifting back and forth.

Then she flung them into the trash can, fell into the chair and started to weep.

\----

"They...left."

"They did."

"...you were fourteen."

"Yes, I was."

Kensou couldn't find any more words after that, just staring at Athena's glistening eyes. Part of him was _screaming_ , angrier than he had ever been in his life...but the rest was too dumbstruck for it to break through.

"An hour later," she went on, "I pulled the card out of the trash, because I'd decided I wanted to live. I used that card, for food and essentials and nothing else, for two months. After that I'd found a job and a new apartment, thanks to some owners who felt sorry for me. When I left the house, I cut up the card and left it too. It was my last connection to them."

"Where did you work...?" Sie said numbly.

"I was a singer-slash-waitress for Hiroshi's, a club downtown. They let me work on the weekends in the restaurant they used as a front, then perform, every night, for the mens' club they made money with. It was the kind of place that put a _lot_ of young girls onstage--the kind none of us should've been involved with. But, like I said, the owners felt sorry for me, and they kept me away from the seediest parts. To this day, I don't know about everything that went on there...and I don't ever want to."

"Were...were you..."

" _No_ , I wasn't," she told him, glaring at him for asking. "...I think a few of us were...but I don't know about that, either.

"I spent about half a year living that way, and it wasn't a good one. But even so, I was happy again. I was making my own way, I was getting to sing, and I could finally practice my powers...in private, of course. At first I felt terrified going to work, but as my powers got stronger I got more confident. I knew I could take care of myself; I knew I'd be okay.

"Then one day, right after I left the club, a man snuck up on me, grabbed me, held a knife to my throat, told me to be quiet and started dragging me off. He didn't expect the knife to fly out of his hand, and he _really_ didn't expect it to stab him in the eye. (Neither did I, I was aiming for his cheek.) I didn't feel bad about it, though, until I saw his face. He was part of a _yakuza_ gang that liked to come to the club...and from what I knew about them, they'd come after me for sure.

"I left my apartment that night. I wandered the streets for the _rest_ of the night, no idea where to go or what to do. By the morning, I wasn't scared anymore, or even sad...I was _angry_. I was mad at the world and everything in it. I wanted to slam things into walls, I wanted to throw Psycho Balls into the sky...I wanted to _punch_ somebody.

"And that's when I found you and Master Chin getting 'mugged'.

"Did you know," said Athena, turning towards Sie as his jaw dropped, "that that was the first time I'd ever used martial arts? I'd taken classes before, but I'd never been in a real fight, or even a competition. When I took those guys down anyway, and when I could _feel_ Master Chin thinking that I had potential, I went back to happy in an instant. And when he asked me to join you two for good, I thought I'd never be sad again."

She let out a long, deep, shuddering sigh. "And that's my story. That's the story of _my_ parents, Sie...the one you've been trying to get out of me since our first date." Then she looked at him, scowling and wincing at once. "...do you _see_ , now, why I _might_ not have wanted to tell it??"

He grabbed her and hugged her in response, tighter than he ever had. Athena couldn't hold out for long; soon she burst into sobs, burying her face in his shoulder and ruining his suit. As she went on and on, Sie tried desperately to think of some words that could salvage this night--not for him, but for _her_. What could he possibly say that would even _begin_ to make this okay??

In the end, he decided to just say what he was thinking.

"I am so, _so_ sorry," he murmured. "Your parents are _assholes_ , I'm sorry if you still love them but they are. You didn't deserve any of that, you least of all people...but it's over. You have another family now. Me, Chin, Bao, Momoko, _we're_ your family. And we're _not_ going to leave you. ...I'm never going to leave you again."

They were just the right words.

Athena kept sobbing a little, but her mouth curled into a smile. In a moment, she pulled back from him just long enough to let him see it. "Thank you," she whispered, already blinking back more tears. Then she leaned back over and let them come, working out her sorrow...or beginning to, anyway.

\----

By the time the carriage pulled up to their hotel, she was silent, peaceful and still. He had relaxed now, and they had nearly dozed off when the driver knocked on their door. Sie delicately helped Athena out of the carriage--then had to rush to catch up with her, as she walked briskly into the hotel with a smile on her face. By the time he reached her, she'd already called for the elevator, and the door had started to open. She pulled him into it, smashed the button for their floor, and, the instant the door closed, threw her arms around him and kissed him.

It caught Kensou _completely_ off guard--in more ways than one. This kiss was nothing like the others they'd had. This one was far more intense; this one was _going_ somewhere. As he pulled her into him (and she let him), Sie's heart started racing. Was it the words? Was it the sunset? Or was it just...him?

The elevator stopped, and Athena broke off just in time. She started pulling him along practically before the door opened, digging in her purse with her other hand. She had her keycard ready when they made it to her room; she rammed it through the lock, impatient...but not too impatient for formalities.

"Do you want to come in...?" she asked, smiling and holding open the door.

"Sure," Sie answered, smiling and sweating profusely.

As soon as they were in, she was back on him, kissing and squeezing. He made the next move this time, leading her to the bed; then he eased them down onto it, sitting them side by side. As they kept at it, instinct took over, and Kensou's hands started to roam...but Athena had been waiting for it, and chose that moment to pull back.

"Not yet," she told him, grinning. "I want to get a little more 'comfortable'. You get comfy too, okay?"

"Okay," he mumbled, sweating a lot harder now.

She walked around the corner to the bathroom, actually swaying a little. The instant the door shut, Kensou tore away his shoes and jacket and threw them aside, not giving a damn where they landed (the jacket needed cleaning anyway). Then, more carefully, he got out of his pants and button-down, leaving himself in a white undershirt...and a pair of loose blue shorts. (It was still _Kensou_ , after all.)

He had never really believed they were going to do this. He almost didn't _want_ to do it; hadn't this night been intense enough already?? But he was a _man_ , and he was in _love_ , and the one he loved _did_ want to do it. There was no way in hell he was going to turn her down.

A moment later, Sie heard the door open and close. He swallowed and sat up on the bed; a second later she rounded the corner, looking at him with a shy smile. She had put on a pale pink chemise, silk and sleek and almost sheer. While the dress had accented her curves, this thing _displayed_ them, setting his heart racing for a whole different reason. And yet her face was _still_ more beautiful...and her _hair_ , her wonderful purple hair, was free again, spread out in a wild mane.

"Perfect," he said quietly. It was just the right word.

Athena approached Kensou slowly, and if he was still nervous he didn't show it. She eased down next to him, kissing him almost before she hit the bed. She made it tender at first...but then he turned it intense, and she felt herself starting to flush. Then her hands, seemingly on their own, took things further: they started taking off Kensou's shirt. They couldn't pull it over his head, but he helped finish the job, bending over and shrugging out of it as she tossed it behind her.

And...

...wow.

...yep, that was Sie Kensou's bare chest, alright.

The bottom fell out from under her. The sight of that much skin, underneath _that_ face, seemed to bring her out of a trance. This wasn't just the romantic from the restaurant, the sympathizer from the carriage. This. Was. Sie. Kensou. She was about to do this with _Sie Kensou_. And it suddenly felt just as wrong as the first time she'd put her head on his shoulder.

But no. She shook herself (mentally). On the first date she'd flinched away from him; on the second she'd fallen asleep on him. She'd wanted to do that _both_ times, and now she wanted to do this. It would work out this time too; she just needed to adjust.

They kissed again, more intently this time. Soon instinct took over again, their hands roaming and touching. Eventually Kensou started touching more interesting places; it gave her another wild shock, but at least this one was kinda _good_.

Then she felt him grip the hem of her gown, and he started to lift it up. Half of her wanted to push it back down...but instead she raised her arms, and then it was off her and gone.

 _And now I'm in my UNDERWEAR with Sie Kensou,_ she thought, starting to tremble.

Sie didn't catch it, not that she could blame him. He just kept moving his hands, every touch to her bare skin seeming to unnerve her more. But her hands kept moving too, and somehow they ended up at his waistband. When they did, she finally hesitated--but he finished that too, pulling off his shorts to reveal a thin pair of boxers.

...and yep. That was Sie...Kensou's...

_...oh god._

It wasn't the decision. Had never been the decision. It was the sex.

It was _sex with her best friend_...and it _terrified her_.

Athena immediately broke down in sobs. Kensou was off her just as fast, on the other side of the bed and covered up in a sheet. "What, what? What is it, Athena? What...?"

"I can't do it," she wailed miserably, shaking her head. She collapsed on top of his (sheet-covered) chest. "I'm just not _ready_ , Sie. ...I'm so sorry..."

"Shh shh shh," he soothed gently, patting her head. "It's alright." (He was sort of relieved, actually...but he didn't think he should say that.)

"You must absolutely hate me now..."

Silence.

"...you still don't really know me, do you?"

That one threw her. Athena lifted her head, looked at Kensou's. "Huh...?"

"Athena, this has been the greatest night of my _life_ ," he said, grinning. "The fact that it won't get even better doesn't change that at all. I mean, I am _in bed_ right now with the _woman I love_ \--because she wanted to be with me! I don't hate you, I love you more than ever...and I even feel like maybe, someday, you'll love me back."

She stared at him with elation, almost _worship_ , crying for a different reason. _That day may be sooner than you think,_ she thought to herself.

They got off the bed wordlessly, looking for some clothes. Athena put on her usual pajamas; Sie stepped back into his shorts. He started to put his shirt back on, too--but she stopped him. "I kinda got used to that, actually," she admitted with a blush.

"Well, uh, I _kinda_ need it to get back to my room," he pointed out.

"...no you don't."

As Kensou raised his eyebrow, Athena got back in bed, crawled under the sheets--and held them up. "You can still stay if you want," she offered, patting the space beside her.

With a grin, he laid down next to her again, flat on his back. She pulled the covers over them, then snuggled her head into his chest, giggling a bit as the hair tickled her cheek.

"Good night, Sie," she said warmly. "...and thank you. _So_ much."

"Good night, Athena," he said deliriously, swimming in bliss.

A little while later, Kensou dared to turn on his side, nudging her with him. She followed his lead, and then they were spooning, her heart filling with joy. _His_ heart, meanwhile, was about to explode, waves of happiness coming off him so strong she could've felt them if she were normal.

 _Thirty points, Kensou,_ she awarded, as she drifted off to sleep.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...yeah, I don't write good enough commentary to follow that with, so I'm not even gonna try.
> 
> I do have a note, though: the story's not _quite_ over. There's still a chapter or two left, and even a little more conflict. So if you're one of the few with some kind of bookmark to this, don't trash it just yet!
> 
> See you next update!
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>   
> _\--Kensou's Score: 30_  
> 


	8. The Last Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you might've guessed from the chapter title, we're coming up on the end of this one. I'm a little glad, too--while I'm proud that I can actually write on a schedule now, I'm getting tired of doing it. :) I'll miss this story, though; it took some neat twists and turns I wasn't expecting. ...to be honest, I _thought_ this story was just going to be a series of funny dates between Kensou and different KOF girls. Not a love story between him and Athena that practically wrapped up on the third date.
> 
> Today's twist, though, is the biggest one of all. The mystery guest star is kind of a cheat; it's a KOF character, but it's also pretty AU. For one thing, s/he doesn't even live in this country in the games. But the character itself is solid, and s/he stays pretty true to the canon...for a while, at least. Hopefully it'll be long enough and well-done enough to make his/her fans happy. :)
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

From that point on, it was official.

...almost.

Athena and Sie were definitely an _item_ , now. They spent the next day inseparable, talking and laughing, eating and sightseeing, nudging and hitting the way new couples do. That night, Athena put on the performance of her life, quieting any rumors that the idol was losing her touch. Their flight to Japan (a short stopover for business before they returned to the dojo) felt like the beginning of a whole new life...and for Kensou, it finally felt _complete_.

Things didn't quite feel _perfect_ yet, though. For one thing, Athena still didn't want the public to know just how serious their relationship had gotten. Kensou had expected that, knowing her and her agency's fear of scandals; it had practically kept her from dating at _all_ before now. It still hurt a bit, though, when the very next morning, she made him wait in her room before he left so she could check that the coast was clear. (And then rushed back in the instant he got out, practically slamming the door.)

For another, Athena, inexplicably, didn't want to stop the game.

"Why not??" Kensou asked in exasperation, after she stupidly brought it up on the flight home. "It was a way to see if we would work out, and we _are_. What's the point of continuing?"

"I just want to keep things open, Sie," Athena answered, thankfully still smiling. "Not for me, but for _you_. I'm telling you, Sie, you kept yourself off the market for _way_ too long. You need to make sure there's no one else out there for you."

"Why would I _want_ someone else when I've finally got _you_?" he pointed out.

"Who says you've got me?" she shot back, smirking. When she saw the hurt look on his face, though, she winced. "No, no, I'm kidding!" she said quickly, laughing to cover it up. "I _do_ want to be with you, Sie. I like it, and I want to see where it's headed."

"Then _why_...?"

"Trust me," she told him, patting his arm. Somehow it wasn't reassuring.

Once they landed, however, he managed to keep it out of his mind whenever he was with her. They didn't have as much time together in Japan (Athena had her own apartment in her _true_ home), but what time they did have felt just as good as their first day as an item. And while they did _some_ training, and even sparred with each other, the contest--or the idea of putting a date on the line early--never came up. ...when Kensou was left to his own devices, though, the idea came up all the time.

For Athena the week passed in the blink of an eye, a whirlwind of meetings, paperwork, and post-tour interviews. But for Kensou it was interminable. When their next "official" match finally came, he still had no idea what would happen. Would she keep it casual, or go full tilt? Which should _he_ do? Should he just throw the match outright, so he could go out with someone else and get this farce closer to an end...?

They squared off at their usual practice space in Osaka, Athena all smiles and Sie a bundle of nerves. They dropped into their stances--but as the match started, she called out to him. "Fireball war, Kensou," she suggested, looking cheeky. "Think you can keep up...?"

Kensou smirked. _Casual, then._ "I can if you can," he told her--and then immediately shot out a Chokyuudan, hoping to catch her off guard.

Not fooled in the slightest, Athena went smoothly into a Psycho Ball. ...but then she seemed to stumble. Over nothing, as far as he could tell. Stumble she did, though, and she couldn't recover in time. The Chokyuudan hit her full on the chest--and she flew off her feet, spinning dramatically, before landing on the ground in a heap with her eyes closed.

His eyes wide, Kensou raced forward. "Hey, you okay??" he asked quickly.

But he needn't have worried. Almost before he started moving, Athena groaned, held her head and sat up. "Oh, wow, Sie...you really got me. I actually blacked out!" she said, smiling sheepishly. Then she looked up, and the smile became warm. "...guess that means we'll have to go on another date, huh?"

It didn't take long for it to click.

Slowly, Sie's face lit up in a grin. Then he started laughing, and she was as well as he helped her off the ground. As they came together in a giddy embrace, Kensou's week-long buildup of tension melted away. If _this_ was how she wanted to continue the contest, he'd be fine if it _never_ ended.

"...enough."

The couple blinked. Then they turned toward the source of the voice: a refereeing Master Chin, walking towards them and looking grave.

"Aw, _come_ on, Master. We were just fooling around," Athena told him.

"Yeah, Teach. We'll have a real match in a second," Sie promised.

"That is _not_ what I'm referring to," said Chin, shaking his head. He stopped a yard or so in front of them, looking at each of them intently. Then, in his most authoritative voice, he declared: "The deal is off."

They both looked at him, frowning. "What...?" Athena asked, an eyebrow raised.

"It's time to face it, Athena: you're a couple now," Chin said with a smile. "You know it. I know it. Kensou knows it. Bao and Momoko know it, too, I'd wager...because the tabloids are already starting to notice."

The pop star winced. "...they are...?"

"They are," he repeated. "You'll need to confirm it to the public soon...and you _must_ , _right now_ , confirm it to yourself. It is time to move on, child, and put this foolishness behind you." _And start a whole new era of foolishness,_ Chin thought but did not say.

"But Master, we're not ready!" Athena protested. "I still want Kensou to be able to see other people...!"

Kensou blinked. He turned and stared at her. "Wait, so you _are_ serious about that??" he exclaimed. "Then what was--"

"Hush, Kensou," said Master Chin, holding up a hand. Then, to his partner, "I had a feeling you'd have misgivings, Athena. But you need to search inside yourself. You said when you began this charade that you would end it if you started feeling jealous. Think about it, my girl: if Kensou were to fall in love with someone else now, would you not be jealous?"

She blinked. Thought about it.

"...I don't know," she said finally, as Kensou just kept staring.

Chin sighed and shook his head. "Very well. Then we'll settle this another way." He reached into his pocket, pulled out a scrap of paper and handed it to his first pupil.

"What is this...?" Sie asked, frowning.

"At the venues for your concerts," said Chin, turning to his _other_ pupil, "while you two were focusing on your nonsense, I had time to get to know your headliner. It turns out she's quite a bit like you, Athena, and not just because she's an idol. She has more in common with you than Yuri, May Lee, or anyone else I've ever met. If there is anyone Kensou could develop a serious relationship with quickly, she would be the one."

"I see," said Athena, her voice even.

"That is her phone number," Chin went on, back to Kensou now. "She's in Osaka as well, and on holiday for the next few days. I want you to ask her to spend the day with you, preferably today since it's still early. She seemed quite taken with you by the end of the tour, so she's likely to agree.

"Training is suspended until you've done so...and after that, _this will be over_." He gave both of them a final, withering look. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, Master," Kensou agreed; Athena didn't respond. Kensou looked at her again for a moment, then looked back at his master and nodded. "I think I'll go do that now, actually." With that he headed out of the room for some privacy, leaving his two partners alone.

Once he was gone, Athena looked to her teacher. She didn't look angry or hurt; she didn't look anything, really. But she said to him, "You don't want us to be a couple, do you."

"I did not," Chin admitted. "The world needs you as fighters, not lovers. Of course I wanted you to be friends, but even that was distracting you. Now that you're more, you'll need to work harder than ever to stay focused. And I don't know if Kensou has it in him. Frankly, I don't know if _you_ have it in you."

"You're trying to sabotage us," said Athena, a tremor of disbelief creeping into her voice.

"No, I'm not," Chin denied, shaking his head. "I didn't want this, but I'm not going to stop it. I'm not _that_ heartless, Athena. And even if I was, I know it would push you away from me...and I want that least of all."

"Then _why_...?"

"Because of _you_ , child," he told her. "I told you to stop this, and you refused. I asked if _you_ thought you should stop it, and you wanted to be sure. All I'm doing is giving you that, albeit a bit faster than you'd intended.

"Remember, Athena: whatever happens now, it is only what you wanted." With that, Chin left as well, leaving his pupil alone with her thoughts.

She didn't even know what they were.

\----

Back in the lobby, Kensou plopped into one of the chairs with a deep, heavy sigh. Half of him just wanted to go home and lay down; he felt _totally_ drained, and it wasn't even nine A.M. The other half of him, however, was too pissed off for that. He knew he could never stay mad at Athena, and he'd never have the nerve to do this normally...but right now he was _definitely_ mad at her, and he _did_ have the nerve.

And apparently, this was what she wanted.

His hand shaking a bit, Sie went into his phone. He dialed the numbers carefully, not sure he'd have the nerve for another attempt. The other end rang six times; just as he felt sure he'd get her voicemail, it answered with what _sounded_ like a greeting message, but in a voice that was unmistakably alive.

"Hi-hi! Mignon Beart here!"

\----

No less than an hour later, Kensou stood waiting at a nearby coffee shop, and now he didn't know _his_ thoughts either. His anger at Athena had already faded; he did _not_ want to do this. He kept reminding himself, though, that Athena _did_ want him to, eventually at least. Besides, a part of him was excited to get to know this girl...something he should've done during the tour, he thought guiltily.

Chin had never suggested a date for him before. Kensou'd had the impression he didn't want him to find love at _all_. If even _he_ thought they'd be a good match, Kensou _had_ to see what the fuss was about.

Luckily, his date arrived before he'd gotten too worked up over it. She'd come in a cab, the drabbest vehicle possible...but she got out looking as garish as ever. The first thing he saw was her bright pink hair, hanging down to her shoulders but curled into thick, sideways spirals at the bottom of each side. She'd accented it with a hairband, pink wristbands, and a pink princess vest (with long coattails in the back) worn over a sleeveless white button-down (with long tails in front _and_ back). A red bow tie, black corset leggings, long white gloves, and what he could only call _moon boots_ completed the outfit, bringing together a package that could only make him think of a train wreck. He didn't _want_ to look at it...but he could not turn away.

Just imagine how he'd feel if he hadn't already seen it.

"You wore your concert costume, huh?" Kensou asked, laughing nervously. He, meanwhile, had just come in a white t-shirt and jeans; he felt both completely underdressed and like the only sane one of the two.

"Yup-yup!" Mignon giggled, answering his Japanese with English. Her face was easily her best feature, her smile bright and cheery and her eyes the widest Sie had ever seen. "Mignon knows it's silly...but she likes these clothes, yeah?"

"They do look...interesting," Sie tried, rubbing the back of his neck.

If Mignon thought it was a bad acting, though, her reaction didn't show it. "Awww, _thank you_!" she cheered, running up and hugging him and grinning. "Mignon _knew_ you were a nice guy! Mignon could tell."

Kensou didn't respond, too busy feeling the blood rush to his head. There was a lot more than a button-down under that vest...

"Now come on," she went on, releasing him but clutching his hand. "Mignon needs coffee, _tout suite_!"

 _You sure about that...?_ Kensou thought as she dragged him into the shop.

\----

They started with the basics--where they were born, where they'd grown up, and so on. Mignon had actually been born in Southtown, of all places. (Kensou had known she was foreign, but couldn't place her from the name.) But her family had moved to Tokyo for business reasons, long before she could remember. She'd grown up fluent in Japanese, but like many students she'd also learned English. And Mignon thought her native tongue was much, _much_ cuter.

"English just has so much more _bounce_ to it, yeah?" she explained. "And all the word tricks, and crazy rules, and funny expressions...Mignon loves it! She uses it whenever she can, yup-yup."

 _She does sound spirited when she speaks it,_ Kensou couldn't help but notice.

"But the truth is, it's kinda sorta an act," she went on. "Mignon talks this way when she wants to put on a show. When she's comfortable with someone, or when she's gotta be all _serious_ , Mignon's a very different person." Then she smiled weakly. " _...watashi wa hazukashigariya desu._ "

'I'm actually quite shy.'

"Really," said Kensou, his eyebrows raising.

\----

" _Holy shit, magic is real??_ "

"Keep it down, would you!?" Mignon scolded, back to English now. "...but yup, magic's real alright. The Beart family's been made of powerful wizards for generations! ...Mignon's still learning, though."

"What can you do so far?" Kensou asked dizzily.

"Well, Mignon's not as strong as you and your partners yet," she admitted. "But she can do some of the same things...!"

With that she closed her eyes, bowed her head and put her hands together. After a moment's concentration, a gust of wind started up around her, strong but surprisingly well-controlled. The gust curled onto the table, crept under her coffee cup, and lifted it into the air. It wobbled for a second, but didn't spill a drop; after that it hovered perfectly, as if she was using telekinesis instead of thin air in constant motion.

"That is _awesome_!" Kensou exclaimed, grinning.

Unfortunately, the compliment broke her concentration. Mignon couldn't help but open her eyes and grin back...and the cup started wobbling again. Her eyes widening, she set the thing down in a rush. It didn't break, but it did slosh out a mouthful of coffee--right onto Mignon's vest.

"Sorry," said Sie, cringing.

"Don't worry! It's easy to clean," Mignon assured him, dabbing at the liquid with a napkin. "...actually, Mignon can control _all_ the elements a little. Earth, fire, wind, water, heart..."

"Heart?"

"Well, more like spirit. The basic energy that flows through all life, yeah? Mignon can heal herself with it, make her hands and feet stronger...she can even create a _bomb_ ," she finished, whispering the word as if it was one.

"Unreal," Kensou replied, shaking his head. It was a doorway into a whole new world...vast and mysterious, yet a lot like his own. "And you say you're still _learning_? What can the older Bearts do??"

"...Mignon doesn't think you're ready for that," she answered, her eyes twinkling.

\----

"Really? You go out for fighting tournaments too?"

By this time their brunch had arrived, a simple soup and sandwich for both of them. Kensou might've ordered more if he'd thought about it, but it was just as well; he was barely paying attention to the food.

"Yup-yup!" Mignon replied cheerfully. The coffee stain on her vest had started to bother her; she'd taken it off, dried it with a spell, and hung it over the back of her chair. The move left her with only her button-down, which didn't afford her quite as much modesty. _DEFINITELY more than that shirt under there,_ Sie had thought.

"You any good at it?" he asked with a smirk, having moved on by now.

"Well, _Mignon_ thinks so," she answered, smirking back. "She even qualified for a King of Fighters once! ...she couldn't find enough partners, though, so she had to sit out."

"Ahh, that sucks," said Kensou, grimacing. But then his face lit up. "Say, we might be able to help you with that next time! Bao and Momoko are just _itching_ to give KOF another go. I bet the fans'd love you guys, too."

"Oooh, that sounds _super_ fun!!" Mignon exclaimed, beaming. Then her face changed into a heartfelt smile. "You're such a sweetie, Kensou. You know that, don't you?"

"Well, _Kensou_ thinks so," Sie replied with a grin, and they laughed.

After that, though, Mignon winced. "...Mignon hates to say this, but she has to go powder her nose," she admitted. "You'll have to excuse her."

"Hurry back," he told her as she stood. He meant it, too.

As she walked away from the table, Sie realized she hadn't just taken off her vest. Somehow she had tucked her shirt tails into her leggings without him noticing--and more than that, he couldn't see any wrinkled spots. She'd likely thought the tails looked silly without the vest, and hoped the leggings alone would be more casual...but what they _really_ did was show off the curves of her hips, and in a fantastic way.

Not to mention her behind. Which was swaying a _lot_.

 _Good grief,_ thought Kensou, blushing so hard he actually had to look away. This girl did _not_ have the body of the average Japanese idol...

\----

"You want to bring about world peace, huh...?"

They were on their fourth cups of coffee, now. They'd both switched to decaf two cups ago, wanting to stay but not wanting to bounce off the walls. At some point, Mignon decided she'd caught Kensou staring at her hair too many times, so she'd sheepishly unrolled it and tied it back in a high ponytail. It made her look _totally_ different...and, to Kensou, a whole lot cuter.

"That's right," Mignon replied, sounding more thoughtful than before. "There's so much fighting and suffering in the world. It's so _sad_ ; sometimes Mignon can hardly bear it. So she wants to make things right."

"Is that why you got into the idol business?" Kensou asked. (He'd heard _this_ story before.)

"Well, not really," she answered, to Kensou's surprise. "Mignon's just doing this for exposure...and to chip in at home, hehe. What she _really_ wants to do is study mind magic. Wizards can't control the mind like psychics can, but there's a lot of little spells that influence it in little ways. If the right ones were combined and made stronger, they could create a spell that makes people happier, all the time! That's what Mignon wants to do, once she's learned enough."

"Interesting," Sie murmured, rubbing his chin. "You wouldn't force it on people though, would you? Almost nobody likes mind control, even for something _good_."

"Of course not, Sie! Mignon is insulted you'd ask such a thing!" she huffed, crossing her arms. "...but that's why the idol business, yeah? The more people know and like Mignon, the more people will trust her. She'll ask for volunteers for the magic, and eventually some people will do it. Then they'll tell their friends, who'll tell _their_ friends, until the world's getting happier every day!"

But Kensou shook his head. He'd come up with _this_ story himself, about Athena's healing powers--and he'd heard its counterargument. "That sounds great and all, Mignon, but you're just one woman. You can't help _all_ the people, one at a time; you'll never get to do anything else!"

"Ah, but if Mignon can help the _right_ people, they can help people in turn," she pointed out with a smile. "Happier doctors mean healthier hospitals; happier lawyers mean healthier courts. And happier _leaders_ mean a healthier _world_. _That's_ the real goal."

"...huh," said Sie simply, unable to manage anything else. _Why hasn't SHE thought of that...?_

\----

"My mother died during childbirth."

Another meal sat in front of them. An early dinner, or possibly a very late lunch. Neither one of them was touching it; neither was thinking about food. But they'd stayed so long the staff, at a _Japanese_ coffee shop, had insisted they buy something or go...and neither one wanted to leave.

"That's terrible, Sie. I'm sorry to hear that," said Mignon, touching his hand. She had switched to Japanese; they'd been serious for a while now.

"Well you know how it is, pretty much. I mean, with your dad and all. That's why I felt okay telling you."

"Maybe, but I still have memories of my father," she argued; he had died when she was a toddler. "I can't imagine never knowing him, especially with only my mother living with me. Our estate's not always happy, but it's _never_ lonely."

"Ehh, I got lonely _some_ times," he agreed. "But dad more than made up for it. He played with me every chance he got. He taught me all the stuff mom would've, and he never got embarrassed. And we went to so many places together; we made a lot of memories."

"He sounds like a great man," Mignon told him, smiling. "What kinds of places did you go?"

"Oh, _everywhere_. Movies, ball games, amusement parks...all of it. Even cultural stuff, like landmarks and shrines."

"Really?" asked Mignon, her face lighting up. "Does that mean you know a lot of Chinese culture? I've always been fascinated by it."

Kensou's jaw dropped. " _Seriously??_ I could tell you _tons_ about that! The Zhaojue Temple, the Jinsha Museum--wait a sec." He raised an eyebrow. "...what kinds of movies do you like?"

"Action."

_...whoa._

\----

"Isn't the twilight beautiful here?"

They'd finally left the restaurant at sunset. They were just walking now, hand in hand. At first they'd meant to go to Chin and Kensou's apartment, and end the date at the steps. It was damn late at this point, after all...and Sie had fulfilled Athena's purpose. She'd wanted to know if he could have something with another girl; he could. He'd never had anything quite like this.

"I've never thought so before tonight, but...yeah, it really is."

But when they'd gotten there, they still hadn't wanted to end it. So they just kept holding hands and walking, down the street and into the night. Osaka was a good place for it, at least--they would never run out of city streets, and they'd always be in reach of JapanTaxi. The only stop they'd made, in fact, was a shoe store just about to close, where Mignon had bought a pair of cheap white tennies more suitable for the trip. They'd gotten a big bag from the cashier to store her moon boots and vest in, which Kensou had happily volunteered to carry.

(She had taken off her gloves as well, and she'd long since put the bow tie in her purse. The transformation from princess to pauper was complete.)

"Well, you know what they say, Sie: scenery gets better with good company." Mignon smiled at him and gave his hand a squeeze. "Everything does."

At that point--after smiling back and nodding--Kensou checked his psyche, _again_ , for any signs of tampering. He'd done it as soon as she'd mentioned mind control, and several times after. But every time he'd found nothing, no changes at all. This was just...her.

Mignon interrupted Kensou's reverie with a slow, giant yawn. "...sorry. Couldn't help it," she said sheepishly.

"Well it is getting late," he allowed. He started checking his watch. "And it's been a pretty-- _whoa_. ...it's been a _very_ long day. Let me get you a cab."

Mignon started to protest, but then thought better of it and nodded. Within minutes, Kensou had summoned both of them rides, and all they had left to do was wait. They did so near-silently, not _needing_ to talk, just holding hands and giggling or glancing at each other sometimes.

Then, slowly, the girl turned her head to look at him.

"Ride back with me?" she almost whispered.

At that the boy cringed. He had finally, _finally_ found his limit. "Ahh...gee, Mignon, I...I dunno--"

But then she closed the distance and kissed him, her lips like buttered honey against his own. Then her arms were around him, and then his were around her, squeezing tight and never wanting to let go. Instantly, feelings pushed to the back of his mind came screaming to the forefront. For hours, he'd been delighted just being with her...but now he wanted to be _with_ her.

"...okay," he agreed, the instant she broke it off.

He managed to cancel his cab just before hers got to them. They clambered in, Sie changed it to a two-person order, and Mignon told the driver where to go. For a minute or two, the pair sat in silence...and then they were back on each other, kissing and squeezing. Another minute or two later, they were doing a lot more than that; everything that had tantalized Kensou earlier was in reach now, and Mignon seemed happy to let him reach it.

Then they stopped with a start, as their driver angrily knocked on the window. He let loose a string of curses so wild they weren't sure it was in Japanese--but the message was clear: settle down or get out.

They settled down, but kept looking at each other, breathing hard. After a moment, Mignon swallowed and said, "I don't want to do this at home. It's too stuffy, there's too many people there. Let's go someplace else."

"Where?" Kensou breathed.

She silently pointed to an establishment just down the street--a kind of establishment Kensou recognized at once.

"...a _love hotel_?" he asked in disbelief.

"The closest hotel of any kind," she said eagerly. "...and it has a nightly rate, too."

Now Kensou swallowed.

The next ten minutes passed in a daze. At some point they left the cab, gave the driver a huge tip; at some point they checked into the hotel, paid the clerk the nightly rate. Still not completely on board, Sie could feel his resolve wavering several times...but every time, Mignon had kissed him, as if _she_ could feel it too, and all his doubts were erased like--well, magic, really. (Once again he scanned his mind; once again he found nothing.)

She teased him like that all the way to their room, leaving him so shell-shocked she had to unlock the door. Not shy _or_ silly anymore, she led Sie to the bed and laid him on it, clearly the one in charge here. From there she sat beside him, leaned over, and kissed him like he'd never been kissed before; it drove him crazy at first, but soon overwhelmed him into a stupor. Finally she broke off, and as he gasped for air, she moved to the foot of the bed, picked up her purse and smiled.

"I'm going to powder my nose," Mignon told him, holding up her bag as if she meant it. And then she was off, taking her purse and leaving Kensou to his stupor.

\----

As soon as she closed the bathroom door, Mignon looked at herself in the mirror and smiled...a bit more evilly, this time.

Perfect. It was going perfect.

She had Sie Kensou wrapped around her little finger. Changing clothes was probably a waste of time, in fact; she could've had her way with him already if the cab driver had let her. And it wasn't just about sex--they had built a _connection_ , over hours and hours. She really might have liked him, actually, if she hadn't hated him in a blind rage.

The connection wasn't from magic, either, no matter how much he suspected it. She hadn't needed to resort to that; she'd just needed to _observe_. To watch him at R2L while hiding at another table. To listen to him on the carriage ride while "stuck behind it in traffic", using the eavesdropping spell she'd planted on it when it arrived. With her intel she'd planned out all the right things to say, all the right moves to make. Then she'd told his teacher she was interested and trusted to luck. A few days later, luck had happened...and it was about to pay off.

..."go on a tour with Athena," they had said. "It'll be fun!" they had said. " _You'll be a star in no time,_ " they. Had. Said. ...but it wasn't really _their_ fault, she supposed. How could they have known the girl would have a breakdown right in the middle of the tour? Until then, Mignon had gotten rave reviews, but after that she'd gotten _none_. All the press was about _Asamiya-sama_ , and how she was losing her touch. Mignon thought things would get better when Athena bounced back at Philadelphia--but then she was the press's darling again, and things got even worse.

She wasn't a _terrible_ person, Mignon insisted to those on her bad side. She'd been telling Kensou the truth about her long-term plans: she _did_ want to bring world peace through magic, and she _didn't_ want to force it on anyone. But the thing about Mignon's plans was that they had a tendency to fall apart. Whenever _she_ caused the problem, she was furious with herself...but when someone _else_ was to blame, she wanted _revenge_.

So Athena was screwing with her career, was she?  
Well now she was screwing with Athena's boyfriend.

"Score one for Mignon," she giggled to herself in English. "And just you wait, you big glory hound--this's only the beginning. From now on, Athena Asamiya and Mignon Beart are _rivals_...and Mignon's gonna _win_."

She then stripped down, pulled a thin, flimsy negligee out of her purse and slipped it on. It was nothing like what she'd wear normally...but tonight, it suited her purposes just fine. As a final touch, she let down her ponytail, spreading out her wonderful pink hair in a wild mane.

"Perfect," she said quietly, her smile _completely_ evil now.

She had failed to notice, however, the sound of the hotel room door opening...

\----

Back at her apartment, Athena was a complete wreck. She hadn't gotten anything done all day; she'd just shambled around like a zombie, barely speaking or thinking of her work. She'd flat-out cancelled her last two appointments, knowing she'd get nothing accomplished there either. Then she'd gone _home_ to act like a zombie, sitting on her bed watching TV--sometimes even changing channels--but having no idea what any of it was about.

Where. The hell. _Was_ he.

Athena hadn't heard from Kensou _all day long_. It might be the longest they'd gone without speaking since they met. She knew Master Chin had told him to spend the day with Mignon--but she never dreamed he'd spend the _whole day_ with her! A thousand thoughts raced through her mind. Was he home yet? Had they hit it off? Were they still out there? Would he call her when he _did_ get home?

...or was he spending the night?

Always, a part of her remembered Chin's sad-but-true words. She had indeed brought this on herself...because this was what she'd wanted. And a small part of her even still believed that--that she wanted Sie to have _choices_ , even if she was one of them. Yet as the hours dragged on, that part became smaller and smaller.

But she had made this decision, sort of. Now she had to stand by it. She could be curious, anxious, even afraid. But whatever happened now, she would _not_ be jealous.

She was telling herself that for the seventeenth time when his ringtone finally went off.

She jumped in her seat, her heart skipping a beat. She scrambled for the phone--then, just before she answered it, remembered she should sound calm. She closed her eyes, took a deep, cleansing breath...and then answered.

"Kensou?"

"Athena?"

"Yeah."

"...I have a question."

"Yeah?"

"You said...you still wanted me to see other people." A pause. "...how much of them did you want me to see?"

"Huh...?"

"Nevermind, sorry. Lemme try again. ...you said I should _go out with_ other people, right? But, how far can I go...?"

"I still don't--"

"I mean is it okay," and he swallowed so hard she actually heard it, "...if we go all the way."

Athena's heart broke into a million pieces.

"I don't know how it happened," he went on, passing frantic. "It all happened so _fast_. This girl--there's no one like her...actually you're a whole _lot_ like her...and now she's all over me, and I--"

"Are you asking me, Sie," said Athena numbly, "if you can have sex with Mignon Beart?"

"...yeah."

Silence.

A thousand thoughts raced through her mind...a million, even. How could she possibly pick one out as a response? How could she possibly answer that question?? How could she even decide what she _wanted_??

And then she realized...she had already made that decision.

"Athena...?"

"...you're crazy."

"Huh?"

" _I_ can't tell you not to do that!" she told him, putting the life back into her voice. "We're not even going steady!"

"I know, but--"

"I sent you out on a _date_ , Kensou," she broke in. "I know what can happen on a good date. And I was prepared for it."

"...and are you still?" he asked carefully.

"Yes," she answered, falsely. "If it's what you want, it's what I want."

"So you're _sure_."

"I'm sure, Sie. Now go get 'em."

"Okay. ...thanks."

And the line went dead.

Athena pulled the screen from her ear and stared at it; she stayed that way for several minutes. Then she let out kind of a high-pitched mewl, and curled up into a ball on her bed. She stayed _that_ way for several hours.

_Damnit._

She was jealous.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies to any Mignon fans who think this isn't who she is. You may be right, but hey--it's who she _wants_ to be, isn't it? She wanted to be a serious rival to Athena; now she is one. :)
> 
> And just like that, things have turned around completely. Kensou has possibly the best day of his life, while Athena has probably her worst. It can happen just that easily, too--especially if you let it. (Not speaking from _personal_ experience, here, but I've seen it before.) I wouldn't possibly give _this_ story a bad ending, though, would I? Luckily, you won't have to wait long to find out: the next chapter will be the last!
> 
> See you for the finale!
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>   
> _\--Kensou's Score: -50_  
> 


	9. The Conclusion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here it is. My third long-running series, and by far my most successful story, comes to a close. Going to miss this one, not gonna lie. I've been working on it for the last two months, after all, and I've had most of it outlined for most of that time. I'm pretty proud of it, especially since I was able to keep a schedule despite a long-ish chapter length, and of course I'm thrilled with the response. Only thing I'd change is to make the last chapters shorter; seemed to lose a few readers with those.
> 
> A warning of sorts for this chapter: the cliffhanger from the last one is resolved pretty quickly, so most of the chapter is the ending itself. You know--epilogues, tying up loose ends...that sort of thing. (Lord of the Rings editing strikes again!) I don't like the structure much, but the _writing_ is some of the most satisfying stuff I've ever done, so if you've made it this far you'll probably like it anyway. :)
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Some time after midnight, a loud knocking at Athena's door shocked her awake.

...well, _awake_ might not be the proper term. She hadn't fallen asleep; she was simply lost in a daze, thinking nothing and only feeling a vague despair. The knock definitely _shocked_ her, though, scaring her out of her wits. It took her a second to recover, then another to wonder who it was--and then she realized the only person it could possibly be.

Her heart racing, she flung herself out of bed and _Teleported_ to the door. It actually took her longer to undo the latches than it did for her to get there. Finally, Athena threw the door open to reveal Sie Kensou, breathing hard and looking frazzled.

"I couldn't do it," he said immediately, shaking his head. "I couldn't go through with it."

" _...oh, Sie...!_ " she cried, throwing her arms around him as her heart became whole again. Kensou looked down at her in surprise for a moment...then realized what it meant and smiled, putting his arms around her in turn.

"She really was something," he said quietly. (She started to stiffen, but he went on too fast.) "If I hadn't met you, I could see myself being with her...having a life with her. But I met you first. I met someone _better_ first, _so_ much better. And as long as we have _any_ kind of chance--"

That was as far as he got before she kissed him, somehow both desperately and tenderly. He responded at once, and for quite a while they stayed that way, melting away the last dregs of conflict between them.

"--I'll never want anyone else," Sie finished, when they broke apart.

"Thank goodness," said Athena, laughing even as she wiped a tear from her eye. "I am _such_ an idiot, Sie. I _did_ get jealous, more jealous than you would believe. What does it _matter_ if there could be someone else? If you're happy with me, and I'm happy with you...well, let's just be happy together, okay??"

"Okay," Kensou laughed back, kissing her on the forehead.

They held each other for a few seconds more--until she abruptly broke away from him and clutched his hand. "C'mon," she told him eagerly, pulling him into her apartment and closing the door.

"You want me to stay the night?"

"Oh, I want a lot more than _that_."

His eyes blinked...then widened. "Wh, what...?"

"Well," she said, curling back up against him, "you could've gone all the way tonight, right...?" She fingered his collar with what she hoped was a sultry smile. "No reason you can't still..."

"B-b-but--but you're not ready," he stammered.

"Oh, I'm ready." As if to prove it, she took his hand and started pulling him again, this time towards the bedroom. "I'm more ready than I've ever been."

And she was.

\----

The next day, the couple _truly_ began their new life.

They spent the whole day together this time, even though Athena still had business to attend to. Sie went with her to all three of her meetings, joining her in two of them and waiting in the lobby for one. In between they were inseparable again, spending their time hitting cafes, sneaking kisses, and just walking and enjoying the city.

It was on one of these walks that some stray paparazzi caught sight of the two. Shouting excitedly, they raced across the street to get to her, much to the chagrin of those trying to use said street to _drive_. "Oh, brother," Athena groaned as she saw them, rolling her eyes.

"Guess we're caught, huh?" Kensou said sheepishly.

"Let me handle it," Athena said back coolly.

Rather than try to escape, they stopped and let the men catch up to them. There were three, and each had a different role. One snapped still photos furiously, a gentle flash going off each time; one pointed a wobbly videocamera at the two. The third, the most professional-looking one, stepped up right next to them, microphone in hand.

"And here's Asamiya- _sama_ and Kensou, together again!" he said to the camera. Then, to Athena, "You've been seen a together a _lot_ lately, Athena- _chan_. Does this mean your competition is over?"

"Nope, sure doesn't!" she chirped, to Kensou's shock. "This is just hanging out together. We're still playing the game."

Before his face could change, though, he heard her voice in his head. _I'm lying,_ she told him. _Just play along._

"Oh, wow! Incredible!!" the reporter exclaimed. But then he smirked and added, "But what about the people who've seen you _kissing_ , hmm? There are pictures..."

Internally Athena winced--but outside she played it just as cool. "Well, if anyone _had_ seen that, I'd tell them, 'Maybe that's just something we do when we hang out, _hmm_??'"

The reporter couldn't help but laugh, knowing this was pure gold. "Then when _will_ the game be over?" he asked.

"You'll find out soon," she promised, winking. Then she struck a quick pose and added, "That's all today, guys. Psycho Soldiers, Out!" After that she grabbed Kensou's hand and Teleported, zipping them down the street in a flash. The paparazzi tried to keep up, but they didn't stand a chance.

Once they'd escaped, Sie gave her a weak smile. "Still not ready to go public, huh...?" he accused.

"Not quite," she admitted, with a shy smile of her own. "But don't worry, Kensou. I have a plan..."

\----

The next day, Kensou still hadn't learned Athena's plan.

But they were _both_ about to get a different surprise.

Sie was escorting Athena home that night as she entered her building, then checked her mailbox at the front. In it she found a letter with a handwritten address, no return address at all, and no _stamp_. Her eyebrows raised, she opened the letter and started to read...and her eyes got wider with every word.

\----

_Hello, Asamiya-SAMA._

_After a little reflection, Mignon decided that trying to steal your boyfriend might've been a BIT much. Mignon is better than that, and she's sorry. She hopes you two have many happy times together._

_...but you can't really BLAME her, yeah? Do you realize what an opportunity you blew for her?? Mignon was on her way to the top--and now she's practically gotta start over! And all because you had to have a silly little nervous breakdown. The nerve!!_

\----

"Did you know about any of this?" Athena asked Sie, who was reading over her shoulder.

"Not a clue," Sie replied, feeling a little deflated. So much for making a connection. Had this girl even liked him at all...?

\----

_Mignon won't go for the throat anymore. Promise. But she's not giving up. She'll haunt you with little things instead...over and over...until you're begging for mercy. You and Mignon are enemies now, and one of you is gonna lose...and it's not gonna be Mignon._

_\- Your eternal rival: BEART-SAMA_

_P. S.: Are you enjoying the sneezing powder? Hope you're not allergic~!_

\----

"Wh--what??" Athena turned over the letter to find her fingers covered in a fine, white powder. Her mouth dropping open, she looked around her to find traces of the powder already swirling in the air; she had surely already breathed it.

" _Get away!_ " she shouted at Kensou--but he hadn't read the end, yet. Frantically, she hit him with a Super Psychic Throw, tossing him ten feet backwards without touching him. She then dropped the letter and Teleported ten feet the other way...but when she looked down, the powder was still on her hands.

"Great. Just great," she muttered, trembling. "Now I've got _another_ stalker..."

"Athena, what's happening!?" Sie cried as he sprang to his feet.

"She hid powder on the letter. _Sneezing_ powder," she explained, still hardly believing it. "...of all the petty, _ridiculous_..."

"Okay, just _calm down_ ," he broke in. "We don't even know if it's real--"

***chu!***

"...oookay, maybe we do," he corrected with a grimace.

"I've got to go-- ***chu!*** \--wash this off," she told him, heading toward the blessedly close restroom. "Kensou, get your-- ***chu!*** \--phone, and look up how long sneezing powder lasts before you-- ***chu!!*** \--need to go to the doctor. ...assuming this _is_ just sneezing-- ** _*chu!!*_**... _damn_ it!"

"Seriously, Athena," called Sie as she stomped into the restroom, "it's not that bad!"

Then he looked back at the letter--sitting on the floor, under some swirling wisps of white--and realized it had one more line that Athena hadn't gotten to. He walked toward it _very_ carefully, stopping the instant he could read it.

\----

_P. P. S.: Mignon really did have a good time the other night, Sie. You call her when this goes in the pooper, okay? She'll be waiting~!_

\----

"...oookay, maybe it is," he corrected with wide eyes.

A moment later, and the instant Athena came out of the bathroom, Kensou kissed her. But this was no ordinary kiss: he'd formed a tight seal around her lips and was breathing in through his mouth. It was like he was trying to take her breath away-- _literally_.

Athena broke off from him and gasped a few seconds later; she had already run out of air. "...what was _that_ , Sie??" she complained, just before another sneeze.

"Just showing you she'll never come between us again," he said, smiling. "And that we're in this together. Forever."

... ***ACHOO!***

It was the most weirdly romantic thing she'd ever seen in her life. For a few seconds she grinned, a tear coming to her eye; then she pulled him down and planted another one on him. From there they went to her apartment, and then to her bedroom, kissing and sneezing all the while.

\----

Two days later, Kensou _still_ hadn't learned the plan.

But that was the least of his concerns.

He and the others had been scheduled to leave today. But the night before, Athena had called Chin and told him she wanted a few more days. Grumbling, he'd listened to the explanation, then reluctantly agreed...but he'd insisted that _some_ of the time be used for training. After the call, Chin had told Kensou they'd be extending their stay and visiting their usual practice space the next morning. When Sie had asked why they were staying, Chin had waved it away.

In the morning, Kensou's alarm didn't go off. When he finally woke up, he saw that Chin had left him behind; now he _really_ regretted not spending the night at Athena's again. He got to the building about fifteen minutes late, cringing as he sprinted for the door. He threw it open and raced down the hallway, expecting to see Chin working with Athena--and then both of them glaring at him--when he reached the practice space.

Instead he saw, in front of a newly-installed pillar, possibly the _last_ person he would've ever expected.

"...whawhawha...R-R-R- _Rugal_!?"

"Well, well, well...Sie Kensou," the man boomed with an evil grin. He was indeed Rugal Bernstein--or, to be precise, Omega Rugal, looking imposing as ever in his mesh shirt, crimson pants, and cybernetic eye. "I've been waiting for you."

" _Why!?_ " Kensou exploded in disbelief. He'd have been less surprised to see Kyo and Iori making out. "And _how_!?"

"I've captured your little girlfriend," Rugal sneered, ignoring him. "Her power is _just what I need_ to come back to life for good!"

" _...what!?_ "

"And I've already dispatched that old fool, Gentsai," he went on, adjusting his gloves. "Now it's your turn, boy...because _you're the only thing_ that can stand in my way."

With that he rushed him, starting things off strong with a Gigantic Pressure. Kensou dodged aside with a yelp, then had to immediately fend off a dizzying series of strikes. Rugal finished it with a Genocide Cutter, crushing Sie's guard; then he used a _stronger_ Cutter, throwing Sie halfway across the room.

"Too easy!" he yelled, as he charged up a Kaiser Wave. Scrambling to his feet, Kensou leapt it just in time--then swooped toward his foe with a Ryuu Sou Geki, finally getting his head in the game. But Rugal recovered in time to block it, along with Kensou's followup strikes. Soon Sie left himself open, and Rugal punished him with a God Press, dragging him _all_ the way across the room and slamming him into the wall.

"What's wrong, boy?" the big man taunted. "Too worried about her to fight??"

Groaning, Kensou didn't respond as he stood...but he turned back to Rugal with a growl.

He flew forward in a Shiku Zanryukyaku, bouncing off Rugal's guard again with the kick. But before the villain could counter, he had to dodge a Ryutouda punch combo, coming in faster than he expected. More focused now, Kensou pressured him with one move after another, eventually tagging him with a Ryugaku Sai whirlwind kick. When he tried to follow up, though, Rugal crowded him out with a third Cutter, abusing the move as usual.

"You'll need more than that to save her!" he shouted, throwing a Reppuken Sie's way.

"Then you're gonna get it!" Sie shouted back, rolling aside and throwing a Chokyudan in turn.

Rugal evaded with a high leap, then barrelled down with a Gravity Smash. Not expecting it, Sie took the flying fist right in the forehead, then ate a brutal followup combo that threw him to the floor. Laughing, the villain stalked in for the kill--and an enraged Kensou caught him off guard with a Shinryu Seio Rekkyaku. The kick combination left the big man reeling, but seemed to exhaust Kensou's strength; Rugal actually recovered before he did. Smirking, he took advantage with another Gigantic Pressure, nailing the move this time--and nailing Kensou to the wall.

As Sie fell slowly to the floor, Rugal stood still and laughed again, dusting off his hands. "You're _weak_ , boy. The girl is mine, and you can't stop me."

"...shut up," Kensou groaned, shaking his head as he struggled to his hands and knees.

"I'll take every last bit of her power," Rugal went on. "And then I'll toss her out like garbage!"

"Shut _up_ ," Kensou growled, rising up to a kneel.

"And don't think it's going to be _easy_ ," Rugal added with a grin. "Mark my words: _she's going to suffer_."

" _SHUT UP!!_ " Kensou roared, springing to life with a Zesshou Chirinshouha. Rugal easily dodged the massive kick--but Kensou was practically moving again before his feet hit the floor. He laid into the big man with the Shinryu Seioushou, pistoning punches into him over and over...but instead of the launcher, he went right into the Seigan Rairyu, a super-charged Rekkyaku that juggled Rugal in midair for ten seconds.

Finally, the villain hit the floor, defeated. The instant he started moving, Kensou was on him, his fist reared back. " _Where is she!?_ " he screamed.

" _Enough,_ " Rugal said instead of answering, just a hint of fear in his eye.

The strange answer confused Kensou, but only for a second. Then he heard the sound of a body hitting the floor, along with a choking gasp of relief. He looked up with a start to find none other than Athena, on her hands and knees in the exact spot the pillar was before.

"I'm right here, Sie," she struggled out, looking up and smiling weakly.

"...what...?" Now _completely_ confused, Kensou looked around, looked down--and found himself on top of Master Chin. "Whaa--!" he cried out, scrambling off of him.

"Well done, Sie," Chin told him--and then winced. He got up groaning to his feet, looking just as weak as Athena. "You can still get there, alright..."

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Sie demanded as he stood.

"This was a test, my boy," Chin revealed, his eyes twinkling. "What you saw was a series of illusions, created by your partner. My appearance, my voice, the pillar hiding her...all fake."

"But--but you threw a Kaiser Wave!"

"Another illusion. Didn't hit you, did it?"

"You used the _Genocide Cutter_."

"My own imitation. I've been at this game a while, you know."

He stared at Chin a bit longer. He turned to Athena; she smiled and nodded. "...then why did you do this??" he yelled at his teacher.

"To push you to your limit," Chin replied. "When you two started dating, I worried you'd lose motivation. But when you fought in Philadelphia, you were more motivated than ever--and for your _own_ sakes. I wanted you to reach that level of strength again...and it occurred to me that having you fight for each _others'_ sakes might do the trick. Soon, Athena will face a similar test; once you've both reached that level, we'll scale things back slowly, until you can do it at will."

"You...you made me think she'd be murdered, just for a workout!?"

"You know better than that, Kensou," said Chin, his eyes narrowed. "This is _not_ about workouts. We're doing this for the _world_."

Kensou groaned, rubbing a hand down his face. He looked at his teacher, knowing he believed it; he looked at Athena, knowing she'd _agreed_ to it--even though it meant facing this torture herself. Slowly, the young man looked down and sighed.

"Just one more question, then," he said in defeat. "So, you had us fight with all our power, tearing each other apart...while the one who could put us back together used up every bit of hers?"

Chin blinked.

"...oh my gosh--he's right!" gasped Athena (who hadn't even gotten up yet). "I...I won't be able to heal you for _hours_...!"

"Hmm. ...well, then. ...shall we call it an early day?" asked Chin.

He then fell to the floor, and tried not to move for a while. His pupils quickly followed suit, each of them agreeing with "Rugal": he really _was_ just an old fool...

\----

Two _more_ days later, Kensou _still_ hadn't learned the plan.

But his _own_ plan had come to fruition.

Kensou brought in the mail when he came to Athena's apartment, just as he had every day since Mignon's surprise. He was pretending to be a gentleman, but secretly hoping for something. Today he found what he was after: another handwritten letter, this time with return address and stamp included. Grinning, he raced to the apartment and knocked on the door; Athena greeted him and thanked him for the favor--but he was barely listening.

"Take a look at this one, Athena," he asked her, holding up the handwritten letter. "I want you to read it now."

Curious, she took the envelope from him and looked at it with eyebrows raised. "To Athena _Helene_ Asamiya," she read in surprise, "from Takashi and Youko--"

And she froze.

"It's from your parents, Athena," Sie confirmed softly. "They had their surnames changed for privacy. ...they weren't easy to find."

"Did you talk to them?" she whispered.

\----

"Do you have any _fucking_ idea what you did to her!?" he shouted, pacing in their living room as they cowered on the couch. "You _scarred her for life_. She's been hurting for years! And she never even _told_ anyone...!"

"We didn't know, Mr. Kensou," her father tried to explain. "We--"

"And you know how she _lived_ ," he went on, "after she threw out your little 'gift'?? She worked at _Hiroshi's_. A men's club with singers-- _underage_ singers. She did it for half a year, you goddamn... She could've been raped! She nearly _was_ raped! And you know how she stopped it?? _With her powers._ "

Her mother burst into tears.

"That's enough!" her father shouted, suddenly furious. "You need to leave here, immediately!"

"Not until I've said my piece," Kensou snapped.

"Then I'm calling the police," the man warned him. He took out his phone, started to dial--

\--and it flew out of his hand.

"I am _saying_. My _piece_ ," Kensou growled, as they stared at him in horror.

\----

"A little bit," Sie said nervously. "But I didn't tell them to write you. I asked them. Politely."

"...this is terrible, Sie," she mumbled, trembling again. "You had no _right_...I didn't _want_ \--"

"But _I_ wanted it," he told her, touching her shoulder--and wincing when she shrugged it off. "Please, Athena...just see what they have to say."

She stood there a moment more, staring at the letter and shaking. Then, finally, she opened it, taking it out and reading it silently.

\----

_To our dearest daughter:_

_We cannot begin to tell you how sorry we are. Your friend told us what happened to you after we left, and how you suffered. We had intended to support you for the rest of our lives, and we worried for weeks when you stopped letting us. But we should have never left you to begin with._

_You frightened us, Athena. But you only gave us reason for it once, and only after we pushed you. We were scared because you were different, and we didn't know what to make of you. Now we realize that's no reason to fear someone. Now we see what a beautiful, talented, wonderful woman you've become...and that your differences have only made you stronger._

_We know you're well off financially, and you have many connections. We don't want any of that. We only want to talk to you, to make sure you're well inside. We'll never forgive ourselves if we find out we've truly scarred you--but we'll do everything in our power to make it right._

_We still love you, and we miss you._

\----

After that came their address again, along with several phone numbers.

She stared it a moment more, her eyes filling with tears. Then she turned and looked at Kensou--her expression utter, utmost misery. "...Sie..." she moaned simply, before falling over him and weeping again. Sie held her tight and let her work it out, grimacing; he hadn't read the letter himself, and it didn't look like it was good.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I had to try."

"It's okay," she mumbled into him. "They want to, too."

She held up the letter for him to see. He took a quick look at it, then grinned for a second--until he realized she was still weeping. "Then...what...?"

She pulled back from him with a scowl. "Don't you _ever_ do something like that again without _telling_ me," she seethed...but then her face softened. "...but I'm glad you did, I think."

She then turned and flung the letter and envelope into the trash.

Now Sie winced. " _You_ don't want to try?" he asked.

"I don't _need_ to try," she answered, shaking her head and finally smiling. "I have another family now."

Then she embraced him again--first hugging him like the brother he used to be, then kissing him like the significant other he'd become.

\----

And then, finally--on their last day in Japan, a full week after Sie's last date--Athena put her plan in motion.

But she _still_ didn't tell him what it was.

He got a big clue when she called her agency, though. She told them "it was a go", and for them to "spread the word". And they spread it, alright, putting out messages on social media and even an "unofficial" press release. Kensou had to read one of them to find out what was up: apparently, he and Athena were having an impromptu street fight, free to watch in Osaka's biggest park at sunset.

"You...you want to tell a whole crowd??" he exclaimed.

"Something like that," she replied with a wink.

"Oh, that's _awesome_!" Kensou gushed, wrapping her up in a hug.

 _Just you wait,_ Athena thought, grinning behind his back.

The word got around fast, both online and off. Soon fans began to trickle into the park, willing to wait the rest of the day to keep a good seat. Once work let out, it turned into a mob scene, and security (hired by Athena herself) had to rope off a clearing for the two of them to fight in. The traffic was a nightmare by that time...but luckily Athena had thought ahead, and the two had arrived long before in an unmarked car.

As they sat there, waiting for sunset, Athena _finally_ told Kensou the plan...

\----

A half-hour later, it was time.

Three of the security guards moved toward the car, and a sizable chunk of the crowd noticed. Thus the whole place erupted in cheers when the door opened, revealing _the_ Athena Asamiya. She got out of the car looking happier than she'd ever been, smiling and waving to her fans as she walked across the clearing. In a moment, Kensou scooted out after her...looking downright pissed.

The plan, he'd learned, was no plan at all. Athena really _did_ want to keep playing the game. Tonight's match would be for Sie's next date; the public setting was just so the fans could get in on it for once.

Kensou felt hurt. Insulted. Betrayed. His scowl was broken and dark, actually unnerving some of the crowd that saw it. After all that...after all they'd been through in the past week, past _two_ weeks, past _month_...Athena _still_ wasn't sure? Would she _ever_ be sure??

She kept _saying_ , of course, that her uncertainty was for _him_. That after so much lost time, he needed to explore his options, to make sure she was the one. ...but he couldn't have possibly cared less. He was certain, dead certain...and she liked him too, so why explore? _She had said that_ , less than a week ago--yet somehow she'd managed to forget.

 _Well,_ he thought grimly. _She's not gonna forget this..._

By now Athena had taken her place on one side of the clearing. She didn't have a microphone, so she asked for quiet instead, and eventually the audience complied. "All right, everyone! Despite what you may have heard, our contest _is_ still going on--and this match is a part of it, okay??" She let the crowd cheer for a second before continuing. "And don't worry! We won't throw any fireballs, so you won't have to duck and cover!"

As part of the crowd laughed, she turned towards Sie and got into her fighting stance, not seeming to notice his attitude at all. "All right, Kensou," she called. "You ready?"

"...no."

Athena blinked. "...huh?"

"No, I'm not," he told her loudly, shaking his head, as part of the audience started to murmur. "I'm not doing this again. This isn't working for me, Athena. ...the deal is off."

The crowd gasped, and Athena started to squirm. "...erhm, Kensou...can we maybe talk about this in private...?" she murmured, blushing furiously.

"I made this deal," Sie went on, ignoring her, "because I had nothing to lose. Being with you or fun times with girls? How could I refuse?? But now I _am_ with you, Athena...and I've got nothing to _gain_. I've had some of the best times of my life these last two months--and it seemed like you did, too! And if that's not worth more to you than giving me options I don't want...then I don't know what else to say.

"So the deal's off, Athena. But nothing's changed. ...I still love you."

Athena's hands flew to her mouth, and the crowd gasped even louder.

"...do you hear me!?" he said, shouting now, all the years of waiting behind him. " _I love you, Athena Asamiya!!_ ...now how do you feel about me??"

Athena looked around frantically, her cheeks cherry red. The audience was beside itself, ecstatic about this turn of events...but she seemed the exact opposite. Her hands were practically clinging to her chin; her eyes were darting around as if she was caught in a bear trap.

 _...what is she thinking?_ Sie wondered after a moment. _Is this really that hard? Is she playing to the crowd?? ...is she thinking of a 'nice' way to reject me in front of it!?_

Then, suddenly, she froze. The extra color drained from her face. She turned back to face him; she looked into his eyes. And then she smiled.

"I love you too," she realized, and the audience exploded.

Kensou's mouth dropped open in shock. Then it became a grin--a beam--a _beacon_...the happiest expression Athena had ever seen or ever would. She couldn't help but laugh, her heart filling up with joy. In unison they ran for each other, and they embraced in the middle to a deafening roar.

"I love you, Sie Kensou," she whispered in his ear.

"I love you too, Athena," he whispered back.

She moved back, smiled again, and pulled him down and kissed him.

They'd have wished for earplugs, if they'd thought about it. They were at serious risk of hearing damage at this point. ...of course, neither one of them was thinking about that. They thought of only this moment, a moment neither of them had ever seen coming but had both waited for for all their lives.

...and then...as soon as they'd broken it off...Athena leapt away from him, landing back on her side of the clearing.

"All right, Kensou!" she called out, as she got back into her stance. " _Now_ you ready!?"

" _...what!?_ " Sie all but screamed.

"The game may be over now--but I'm still a performer!" Athena cried. "And we promised these people a show!!"

As the crowd roared yet again, Kensou let out a massive groan. "...oh, for the _love_ of..." he wailed to himself, his head falling back against his neck. ...but this was, after all, one of the things he loved about her.

Dutifully he hopped back a few times, then got into _his_ stance. "You asked for it, Athena!" he called back, smirking. "New Kensou, comin' at ya!!"

\----

Over time, Kensou forgot most of what happened that day. He certainly didn't remember who won the match. He only remembered that moment, the one he and his love had shared before it.

And it was still the greatest day anyone had ever had in their life.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I did not realize, while I was writing that, that I was scripting a potential match intro for a future KOF. :P
> 
> Seigan Rairyu is Kensou's Dream Cancel from XI, and it really is just a better Rekkyaku. (Athena's is the Phoenix Infinity. ...how lame is that!?) The team should've probably called an ambulance after that boss fight; I don't think I really described just how messed up they got. And the parents' names are complete crap, and I'll be happy to replace them if anyone can find out the real ones. (Helene is also crap, but it's inspired by one of Athena's side games. Other Athena fanboys will know which one. ;)
> 
> Okay, peoples, I guess that's a wrap! I'm afraid I'll be pretty scarce for a bit--I've decided to finish the next series before posting it, like I did with Botan. The writing bug comes and goes these days, and I do _not_ want another abandoned story under my belt. I'll try to put out some side stories once in a while (maybe even on my other account...), but I'm _also_ thinking about doing some original material, and if I can get that going it'll come before anything else. Once again, we'll see how it goes. :)
> 
> In case I _don't_ come back for a while, huge thanks to everyone who's read through this and my other stories. RobertCop, Nanomemes Son, and Shikou_Arata in particular have given me lots of great feedback, and I greatly appreciate it. And a special thanks to illyrilex, who's given me _tons_ of great feedback (both on- and off-site), actually _plugged me in sideblogs_ , and generally become a good friend. ^_^ [Go read her stuff.](https://archiveofourown.org/users/illyrilex/pseuds/illyrilex) Or I will find you.
> 
> See you next time!
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>   
> "...you want to modify my memory?"
> 
> They were in the car, waiting for sunset, at the moment. Kensou had raised an eyebrow at Athena, who was grinning like a Cheshire cat.
> 
> "Exactly," she said, nodding eagerly. "You said that if I was still trying to do the contest, you'd confess for real, right? Well, I want to make you think I meant it. That I really am...so you really will."
> 
> "But...why?" he asked, still just as confused. "We're together, now. I don't need to confess."
> 
> "Sie, I've seen you try it before our fights a dozen times," she answered, giggling. "And you never tried it again, _unless_ we were fighting. I'm still a _bit_ bright; I knew what that meant. You wanted that moment more than anything...and now, I'm gonna give it to you."
> 
> A warm smile came over his face, a warm feeling over his heart.
> 
> But then he blinked. "Uhm...that's wonderful, and all, but why didn't you just do it? Just _tell_ me the contest was still on, and skip the mind-bending?"
> 
> "I didn't want to risk it," said Athena, shaking her head. "I needed to be sure what you'd do. And I didn't want to rummage through your head to find out." Then her grin got bigger than ever. "And besides...yours isn't the only mind I want to bend today."
> 
> "Huh...?"
> 
> "After I modify your memory," she told him, "I'm going to modify my own. I'm going to make _myself_ think I meant it, and forget about this plan."
> 
> He stared at her in disbelief. "...are you serious??"
> 
> "Yes, I am," she said sincerely. "That way we'll _both_ have that moment...because my answer will be real."
> 
> For a moment, Kensou just sat there, speechless. Then for a few seconds _he_ grinned, and felt a tear coming to _his_ eye. ...but then the old insecurities crept in, and his grin became a grimace.
> 
> "...you're not going to rig it, are you?" he had to ask.
> 
> "Of course not," she assured him, rolling her eyes.
> 
> "Then, how can you know how you'll answer me...?"
> 
> "Oh, I know." She clutched his hand with both her own, and her grin became a smile. "I know _exactly_ how I'll answer you."
> 
> And she did.
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>   
> _\--Kensou's Score: win!_  
> 


End file.
